A public health official has said the use of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 patients will be done in controlled environments to avoid indiscriminate prescription and dispensing of the medicine.
Chief Coordinator of the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Agnes Mahomva, was speaking on Friday following the approval by the government of the use of the drug for “investigational” COVID-19 treatment.
Healthcare workers had lobbied for the use of the anti-parasitic drug saying the fusion of Ivermectin and nanosilver was effective in caring for patients.
Dr Mahomva asserted that the used of Ivermectin, that is the kind for humans, to treat COVID-19, will be closely monitored to protect patients from unethical and unsafe doses as well as counterfeit products, including veterinary Ivermectin. She said:
Let me take this opportunity to remind you all, including our doctors, that all medicines, whether they are new or old, routine or investigational, must be registered with the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) before they can be used or prescribed.
At the beginning of the month, MCAZ in its circular 5 of 2021 advised medical doctors and other healthcare workers against the use of unapproved veterinary Ivermectin for prevention of COVID-19 in humans.
In a more recent communication, MCAZ provided detailed guidance indicating that investigational medicines for COVID-19 such as Ivermectin, that is the kind for humans, are to be used under controlled and structured environments with specific settings and strict monitoring to avoid wanton and indiscriminate prescription and dispensing of such medicines.