Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) Claimed that animosity against former President Donald Trump is hampering studies on ivermectin (a drug approved to treat some parasitic worms and often given to cattle) and his supposed potential to treat or prevent COVID-19 in humans.
“Hatred of Trump bothered these people so much, that they are unwilling to study it objectively,” Paul said Friday during a town hall meeting in Cold Spring, Kentucky, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer, the first media outlet to report Paul’s statements.
“Someone like me at the center, I can’t tell you because they won’t study ivermectin,” Paul told his audience. “They won’t study hydroxychloroquine without contaminating their hatred of Donald Trump.”
Hydroxychloroquine is an antimalarial drug that Trump promoted during his presidency as a treatment for COVID, despite concerns from health officials about its safety and effectiveness. Studies have shown that the drug has no benefit for hospitalized patients with coronavirus.
Ivermectin is not a drug used to treat viruses. Some initial research is being done on the effect of ivermectin on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. But after people started taking doses intended for horses in order to self-medicate, the Drug and Food Administration warned against the use of the antiparasitic.
The FDA has made it clear that “additional evidence is needed to determine whether ivermectin may be appropriate to prevent or treat coronavirus or COVID-19.” In March, the World Health Organization also discouraged widespread use of ivermectin, saying it should only be used in clinical trials and that evidence on its use to treat COVID-19 is not “conclusive.” “.
Paul has repeated it over and over again urged people to resist vaccine and mask mandates. HuffPost contacted Paul’s office to comment, but did not receive a response immediately.
Medical experts around the world have encouraged people to get a vaccine to help protect against serious illness and death caused by coronavirus and its highly transmissible delta variant.
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