Ivermectin in India, Prophylactic role of ivermectin in SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers
https://www.aiims.edu/en.html
https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-208785/v1/d6ff79a3-d354-4aba-a6b0-4bc123bbd225.pdf
https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-208785/v1
Background
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are vulnerable to getting infected withSARS-CoV-2
Preventing HCWs from getting infected is a priority to maintain healthcare services
The therapeutic and preventive role of ivermectin in COVID-19 is being investigated
Based on promising results of in vitro studies of oral ivermectin,
this study to look at prophylactic role of oral ivermectin
Methods
Prospective cohort study was conducted at AIIMS Bhubaneswar
Two-doses of oral ivermectin, 300 μg/kg at a gap of 72 hours
Primary outcome, COVID-19 infection in the month following
Of 3892 employees,
3532 (90.8%) participated in the study
Ivermectin uptake n = 2, 384 (67.5%)
Non uptake, n = 1147 (32.5%)
Results
Development of symptomatic infection
331 participants, developed symptoms
131 in takers
200 from non takers
Ivermectin takers, 6%
Non takers, 15%
Testing positive, 201
Ivermectin takers, 2%
Non takers, 11.7%
Implications for transmission
HCWs who had taken two-doses
(Single dose did not reach significance)
Significantly lower risk of contracting COVID-19 disease during the following month was 0.18
Adjusted Relative Risk 0.17
1.8% reported adverse events, mild and self-limiting
Conclusion and relevance
Two-doses of oral ivermectin (300 μg/kg given 72 hours apart) as chemoprophylaxis among HCWs
reduces the risk of COVID-19 infection by 83% in the following month.
Safe, effective, and low-cost chemoprophylaxis have relevance in the containment of pandemic
alongside vaccine.
https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/aiims-study-covid-19/
AIIMS Director, Gitanjali Batmanabane
Earlier, at least 20 to 25 HCWs were getting infected with the virus daily.
After the workers started taking ivermectin, the number of infection has come down to one or two per day
Critique
The safety of the drug has been established by its large-scale use in the last four decades for
various indications such as onchocerciasis, scabies, head lice, and other parasitic infestations
https://www.facebook.com/john.l.campbell1/
Ivermectin isn’t a highly effective drug for treating COVID-19