JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — This past weekend, the Food and Drug Administration posted a warning about the drug ivermectin on its Twitter page.
"You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously y'all. Stop it," the post read.
The drug is used to prevent heartworm disease in animals, but some people are using it to self-medicate for COVID-19, the FDA said. Sales of ivermectin at Standard Feed and Seed have tripled over the past three weeks, according to the store's owner, Frank Wallmeyer.
"We started to notice a lot more sales and a lot more phone calls," he said.
Sales and phone calls from people not buying it for an animal, but instead, to treat COVID, Wallmeyer said.
“They've been saying that they want to get it for COVID. Now how they're taking it or why they're taking it, I don't know," he said.
“Unfortunately, this it's a horrible, horrible disease, and people are willing to try anything that they think is going to help. You know, God bless them. I hope it does work, but that's not what it's intended for," Wallmeyer said.
“It is not intended for COVID-19," Dr. Shalika Katugaha, System Medical Director of Infectious Diseases at Baptist Health,, said. "The FDA, the CDC, NIH World Health Organization, none of them have recommended ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19," she said.
Katugaha said there's no evidence the drug will help treat COVID.
“I know that it is so tempting for anyone out there to think 'let's do whatever we can. If there's anything out there, let me take it or let me do it,' but actually, doctors and the medical community, they think like that, too," she said. "They think if there's anything good, then we'll give it as well, but we also believe first do no harm, and there are some harmful side effects of ivermectin," Katugaha said.
According to Katugaha and the FDA, it can cause fever, rashes, muscle pain, seizures and even death in rare cases.
“We've seen this throughout the pandemic, that people go get the first thing out there, so, you know, there was a time they were getting azithromycin. There was a time they were getting hydroxychloroquine also, which are not recommended for the treatment of COVID," she said.
"It's not unexpected that anyone would want to, you know, try to go out there and get anything to protect themselves. But, really, I'm telling you, this is not the anything that you need. The anything that you need right now is actually quite honestly, the vaccine," Katugaha said.
Florida Poison Control posted a warning about the drug to Facebook Tuesday too. The post said they've treated almost 30 people in August alone due to "inappropriate use of ivermectin made for livestock."
Wallmeyer said the drug was never a big seller until recently. They used to buy ivermectin 12 at a time per week. Now, Wallmeyer said, they're buying them 100 to 200 a time per week.
Most customers, he said, want the injectable version, but Wallmeyer and his supplier haven't been able to get that kind. Instead, Standard Feed and Seed has the paste.
He cautioned the stuff on his shelves is dosed for horses, and isn't designed for human consumption.
“Do your research," he said. "Just because someone says it's good or works for someone doesn't mean it's going to work for you. It doesn't mean it's a great thing," Wallmeyer said.
"But at the same time, if your choices are trying something that may or may not work, or facing the inevitable, it might be worth to try something. That's for people to make their own decisions about and educate themselves, and that's not for me to decide what's best for them," he said.
Wallmeyer said the box of ivermectin is clearly labeled that it's for horses.
"People that are coming in here know what they're doing," he said.
There is a different form of ivermectin for humans. Katugaha said it's used to treat parasitic infections, lice and skin conditions, but she said it will not help COVID. The FDA said there is some initial research underway with the drug in regards to COVID, but warns against using it right now.