The truth about ivermectin’s supposed health benefits
An antiparasitic drug became widely known during the covid-19 pandemic, though its uses have nothing to do with the virus
HJBC/Shutterstock Source: ShutterstockBefore 2020, most people had probably never heard of the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin. But interest in this once obscure medication skyrocketed during the covid-19 pandemic amid unfounded claims it could prevent or treat the viral infection. The popular podcast host Joe Rogan claimed to have taken it when he was sick with covid in 2021. That same year, Robert F Kennedy Jr – now the highest-ranking public health official in the US – petitioned the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue guidance supporting its use for covid-19.Numerous studies have disproven ivermectin as a cure for covid-19, but the hype around it persists. While it gained a reputation as a quack remedy during...