Peruvian evangelical group injects veterinary medicine into thousands of people for Covid-19 (Peru, 2020-06-20)

[-] TrumpLyftAlles | 1 points | Jun 20 2020 22:37:09

In the Loreto region, the largest in Amazon Peruvian, the governor and an evangelical group promoted the application of veterinary ivermectin in about 5,000 people. In this isolated area of Peru, where almost a million people live, of which 300,000 are indigenous, fear of Covid-19 and the lack of state assistance led many people to accept the injection of antiparasitic, which was presented as a palliative for the disease.

Injection? Uh, I think in Peru, ivermectin is generally distributed as a liquid. But still, injection?

“Since May, the governor of the Loreto department and an evangelical alliance have called on people, using radio stations, to apply veterinary ivermectin as if it were a vaccine against the disease. In Nauta, at least 5,000 people received it," says Leonardo Tello, director of Radio Ucamara, the city’s main broadcaster, located two hours from the region’s capital, Iquitos, and an entry point for the indigenous communities of the Marañon River.

Tello says that many people felt their hearts beat faster after the injection. “The side effect has been horrific,” he says. According to him, some evangelical pastors from Loreto linked the new coronavirus to the devil and the end of the world, offering these injections “as salvation”.

Faster heart beat versus dying from covid19: hmmmm.

In the community of Cuninico, where a large part of the population had symptoms of Covid-19, the health module technician – a prefabricated environment for the care of patients by the Ministry of Health – told volunteers of the so-called Evangelical Missions of the Amazon that they no longer needed the “vaccine” because most people were taking care of themselves. traditional medicine, using plants. But those sent by the evangelical group decided to administer veterinary ivermectin. “The volunteers’ explanation was clear and direct that [o antiparasitário] approved by law and that it is an animal treatment that gives positive results as a vaccine", said the apu (indigenous chief) of Cuninico, Wadson Trujillo Acosta. “They said they are administering it nationwide and also in Nauta, and warned about side effects, such as diarrhea. Some people did have this reaction," he described.

In Cuninico, 60% of those over 18 received the drug. “About 160 people”, details Trujillo. In 2014, this community of the Kukuma indigenous people was severely affected by oil spills from the Norperuano pipeline. The contamination of water in rivers and canals prevented fishing for family consumption and the sale of surplus. By not having drinking water, the inhabitants could only use rainwater. After years of litigation with the State, for some months they have access to a health module where they serve six professionals; a year ago, there was only one health technician in charge.

“Here almost everyone has had symptoms of Covid-19 and are treating it with home remedies,” says Trujillo. “Some were in isolation because we continue with the problem of supplying medicines. We received 27 rapid diagnostic tests for the community. Seven were positive, and we saved seven more to make matters worse. THE staff has the minimum safety equipment, but we already have masks for the population ”.

Last week, the General Directorate of Medicines of the Ministry of Health warned about the misuse of veterinary ivermectin in the context of the health emergency of the pandemic, remembering that animal products “do not meet the same requirements as drugs for humans”. “Presentations of ivermectin formulated for animals should not be used as substitutes for ivermectin intended for use in humans to treat Covid-19,” he warned.

There is literally no evidence of the horse paste ivermectin harming anyone. There is evidence of it being OK to consume: 18 Amazon reviewers. Can't speak to other animal forms of the drug.

Despite the recommendation of health authorities, the ivermectin injections promoted by the governor of the department of Loreto, Giampaolo Rojas, continue. At the health center in the Quechua community of Intuto, professionals continue to administer ivermectin, but “they do not know if it is a veterinary or human use”, says Juan Enrique Villacorta, correspondent for Rádio Ucamara. Evangelical volunteers also applied the drug veterinarian in the communities of Santa Rita de Castilla and Saramurillo, among others.

EL PAÍS consulted the Ministry of Health and the Loreto Regional Health Directorate on whether there could be sanctions against those who massively administered the substance for animal use, but did not receive a response until the closing of this report. According to health authorities in Loreto, up to a few days ago 1,492 indigenous citizens had been infected by the coronavirus, with 14 deaths. In the region, 32% of people who tested tested positive, a percentage only surpassed by that of the neighboring Amazon region of Ucayali (34%).

This is a natural experiment: if patients know whether they got animal or human ivermectin, the course of their covid19 disease could be compared to see if the two forms are equally therapeutic.

Doctor Julio Chirinos, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told this paper that he completely disagrees with the administration of veterinary ivermectin because “animal preparations tend not to have the same quality standards as those of humans. On the other hand, there is no reliable evidence that ivermectin is beneficial against Covid-19 ”. Chirinos is one of the 12 Peruvian doctors and scientific researchers who asked this Thursday, in an open letter to the Ministry of Health, to hydroxychloroquine withdrawal and ivermectin (human) from Covid-19 treatment “due to its lack of effectiveness and its risk of toxicity”.

ZERO risk of toxicity with ivermectin. If the letter actually said that, the 12 doctors are not well-informed.

#Health versus economy

THE Peru last Wednesday it surpassed the number of infected in Italy, with more than 240,000 confirmed cases, and registered 7,257 deaths from the new coronavirus. The Ordem dos Médicos reported that 57 of its members died after being infected at work. Mental health hospitals report 217 infected and five dead. Although the spread of the virus continues, on Thursday the Government authorized the reopening of shopping centers. The Minister of Health, Víctor Zamora, said at a press conference on Tuesday with foreign journalists that the collection of taxes is necessary to allocate them to health care, which is the reason for the resumption of commercial activity.