Ivermectin debate has polarised SA

As South Africa has been thrown into a state of panic and uncertainty due to the Indian-manufactured AstraZeneca vaccine having been found to be weak against the Covid-19 variant 501Y.V2, scientists on Thursday made a case for ivermectin to be used as part of the drug mix.

Addressing a “What the ivermectin debate has revealed to us in a time of pandemic”, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine healthcare scientist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) , professor Colleen Aldous, conceded that the ivermectin debate has polarised South Africa.

“Medicine is for the people. Regulatory authorities are there to protect our people and not there to be swayed by political or big pharmaceutical agendas.

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“Scientists must serve the people with an open and questioning mind,” said Aldous.

Utterances of “dismissive scientists” and extreme activists “have damaged the relationship between science and society”.

“One scientist may state publicly that ivermectin obliterates the Sars-CoV-2 virus and another will call it snake oil,” said Aldous.

“Another one will state that there is no research into ivermectin and Covid-19 treatment. Another will present rigorously produced meta-analyses and systematic reviews of studies that have taken place across the globe.

“Yet another may say ivermectin causes blindness and death and another will prove this to be disinformation.

“Meanwhile, the public has access to ivermectin and is using it, with the evidence they are thriving being anecdotal – from voice notes claiming miracle cure to unedited information shared in social media.

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“Now, another Nobel award-winning drug, beginning to show immense promise across the globe in treating Covid-19, is being both slated and hyped-up beyond what it deserves to be.

“What we need in the 21st century is a new way of looking at the body of research. A paradigm that takes into consideration both the scientific and ethical rigour we learned from the last century.”

On the status of ivermectin, Aldous said the drug would be available for prescription through the Section 21 application.

– brians@citizen.co.za

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