The Department of Health (DOH) has already received the results of the evaluation of experts on anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin whether it can be used for the treatment of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“Our experts have been evaluating this Ivermectin for these past weeks and we have already results from this evaluation,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an ANC interview Monday, April 12.
“We just need to finalize the report and then we will inform the public,” she added.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 8 has approved a compassionate special permit (CSP) application of a hospital for the use of the anti-parasitic drug for COVID-19 treatment.
“We base everything on science. We cannot just settle for everything just because other countries are using it, because all of our citizens are already using it then we just go with the flow and give them the go signal,” Vergeire said.
“The DOH and FDA has that mandate of protecting the population, the public health, and we have that mandate also of ensuring that all of these drugs that you take would be safe and of quality,” she added.
The health official said that the anti-parasitic drug is not registered for human use so the government cannot guarantee the safety and quality of the drug.
She also noted that people using the drug for COBVID-19 treatment can have a sense of false security.
“This is just what we are saying, let’s just wait for the advice of our experts. It’s not going to be long,” Vergeire said.
“Let’s just wait for this drug to be registered here in the country so that the government can also be able to monitor and be able to be accountable if ever you will take that drug,” she added.