TRINIDAD — Officials in the Bolivian city of Trinidad launched a campaign on Monday to give out free doses of the anti-parasite drug ivermectin in a bid to combat the coronavirus in the country's hard-hit eastern region.
Authorities will go house-to-house to pass out some 350,000 doses of the drug to residents in the region of Beni, where Trinidad is the capital. The area has 581 confirmed cases and 41 coronavirus-related deaths.
"We are afraid of testing positive for coronavirus because of the constant deaths that are seen every day in Trinidad. We have faith and we believe that ivermectin has made my mother improve," said Yara Zampeira, a resident of Beni.
The South American nation has been under a country-wide lockdown for about two months.
This is despite grudging approval by top health officials.
The Ministry of Health said it can be used under proper medical protocol, while noting the lack of evidence for it as a treatment for COVID-19 - the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
"It is a product that does not have scientific validation in the treatment of the coronavirus," Health Minister Marcelo Navajas told local media. "It does serve to treat parasitic diseases and other types of diseases. Therefore, we ask our medical colleagues who are going to use this product to do so with informed consent."
The evidence is good enough for town officials.
Ivermectin has won support among officials in Trinidad.
[-] TrumpLyftAlles | 3 points | May 19 2020 22:32:27
TRINIDAD — Officials in the Bolivian city of Trinidad launched a campaign on Monday to give out free doses of the anti-parasite drug ivermectin in a bid to combat the coronavirus in the country's hard-hit eastern region.
Authorities will go house-to-house to pass out some 350,000 doses of the drug to residents in the region of Beni, where Trinidad is the capital. The area has 581 confirmed cases and 41 coronavirus-related deaths.
"We are afraid of testing positive for coronavirus because of the constant deaths that are seen every day in Trinidad. We have faith and we believe that ivermectin has made my mother improve," said Yara Zampeira, a resident of Beni.
The South American nation has been under a country-wide lockdown for about two months.
This is despite grudging approval by top health officials.
The Ministry of Health said it can be used under proper medical protocol, while noting the lack of evidence for it as a treatment for COVID-19 - the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
"It is a product that does not have scientific validation in the treatment of the coronavirus," Health Minister Marcelo Navajas told local media. "It does serve to treat parasitic diseases and other types of diseases. Therefore, we ask our medical colleagues who are going to use this product to do so with informed consent."
The evidence is good enough for town officials.
Ivermectin has won support among officials in Trinidad.
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[-] kunkr | 2 points | May 19 2020 23:25:15
Great news, hopefully we start seeing positive results soon.
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