B.C. experts call for more to be done to counter COVID-19 misinformation about vaccines, ivermectin

Two Vancouver medical experts are calling for more to be done to counter the spread of COVID-19 misinformation, after a fresh warning was issued about taking ivermectin.

Interior Health shared an image of a flyer seen around Kelowna advertising the sale of the drug, along with illustrations of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Commonly described as a "horse de-wormer," ivermectin has also been approved for treatment of parasitic worm infections in humans in Canada.

Dr. Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Disease Centre said it’s not an effective or approved treatment for COVID-19 and there have been severe consequences for people who have taken the drug.

“Side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, coma, seizures, people have been hospitalized,” Dr. Conway said. “This drug was never developed as an antiviral.”

A doctor who is alleged to have spread misinformation about ivermectin and COVID-19 vaccines is also set to face a disciplinary hearing by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.

That move is welcomed by Dr. Susan Kuo, a Richmond family practitioner and a clinical assistant professor at UBC.

“I think the college needs to pursue this,” Dr. Kuo said. “I think it’s important that people are not misled to think that this medication works and I think the college has a duty to pursue people that are trying to say it works.”

Dr. Conway, however, also raised concerns about the lack of awareness of proven, effective COVID-19 treatments that have been authorized by Health Canada and are available in B.C.

“I think we’ve not done a good enough job of making clear that there are preventive measures,” he said. “There are treatments that are proven, that are widely available and people should take advantage of these proven options and not resort to ivermectin.”

Dr. Kuo believes there are also unnecessary challenges in the approved anti-viral treatments. For example, Dr. Kuo said she has seen strong results in prescribing Paxlovid to her patients, but there are restrictions on who can get the drug.

“I feel as a family doctor that my hands are very tied and I wish I could use this on more people because I know this helps,” Dr. Kuo said.

More information on approved treatments for COVID-19 is available online from the BC Centre for Disease Control.