Prisoners in an Arkansas prison said they were not told they had been treated for COVID-19 with the drug Ivermectin, a known livestock dewormer, according to The Associated Press.
In an interview with Newswire, three inmates in a Washington, Arkansas county said they did not know they were given the antiparasitic drug as a drug for the virus until last week.
Prisoner William Evans said inmates felt they were being tested for guinea pigs by the medication, saying he was given the drug two weeks after testing positive for the coronavirus, the AP noted.
“They were practically testing us here, everything they were doing, seeing if it would work,” Evans said.
“I asked what they are, and they would just call me vitamins,” inmate Edrick Floreal-Wooten told the AP. “With my illness and the illness of all of us, we thought they were there to help us. I never thought they would do anything obscure. ”
The inmates ’narratives come after an increase in poisonings after using Ivermectin. Poison control centers have seen a five-fold increase in calls related to ivermectin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in humans in different doses for some conditions, but yes not recommended treatment of COVID-19.
The news also comes when the US is enduring another wave of COVID-19 infections caused by the highly transmissible delta variant. Prisons, in particular, have been known to be fires for disease, as inmates are considered to live in an enclosed enclosure.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas (ACLU) said inmates are preparing to sue Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder for prescribing the drug without their knowledge, the AP reported.
“They have a right to know what’s being given to them,” ACLU Arkansas Executive Director Holly Dickson told Newswire. “This is not a right they give up by virtue of being locked up.”
Several associations included the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Association of Pharmacists (APA) Wednesday called for an immediate end to the prescription of ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment outside of clinical trials.
The Hill has contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to comment.