No, the FDA did not approve the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19

On  Aug. 11, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) was interviewed by Fox Business Network host Maria Bartiromo on her show “Mornings with Maria.”  During the show, Bartiromo asked Johnson what he thought about the Food and Drug Administration now allowing ivermectin to be prescribed by doctors as treatment for COVID-19. 

The use of the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin has been a source of controversy since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Celebrities and influencers began touting the effectiveness of ivermectin to treat the virus, despite a lack of evidence to support the claims. 

After Johnson appeared on the show, he tweeted a clip of the interview with the caption: “Doctors who had the courage and compassion to treat COVID patients believe hundreds of thousands of Americans died needlessly because the @US_FDA sabotaged the use of cheap, safe, and effective generic drugs. Now the FDA quietly approves ivermectin's use? What's going on?”

Bartiromo also tweeted about the FDA allowing ivermectin to be used for COVID-19, saying the move comes three years late and she was glad her own doctor didn’t listen.

THE QUESTION

Did the FDA approve the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19?

THE SOURCES

• The Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Department of Health and Human Services
• Apter et al v. Department Of Health And Human Services et al, a lawsuit against federal health agencies that was brought forward by a group of doctors

THE ANSWER

No, the FDA did not approve the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19

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WHAT WE FOUND

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) maintains a list of FDA-approved COVID-19 therapeutic treatments. The website, which is updated whenever a drug is approved for use to treat the coronavirus, was last revised on May 25, 2023.

Ivermectin is not on that list as an approved method of treatment. A spokesperson with the FDA also confirmed to VERIFY via email that ivermectin is still not an approved drug to treat the coronavirus.

This is a list of approved drugs to treat COVID-19:

• Actemra (Tocilizumab) is approved for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized adults who are receiving systemic steroids and require supplemental oxygen, non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
• Veklury (Remdesivir) is approved for the treatment of COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (28 days of age and older and weighing at least 3 kilograms) who are: hospitalized, or not hospitalized and have mild-to-moderate COVID-19 and are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.
• Olumiant (baricitinib) is approved for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized adults requiring supplemental oxygen, non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation, or ECMO.
• Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir) is approved for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID 19, including hospitalization or death. Paxlovid is not approved for use as pre-exposure or post-exposure prophylaxis for prevention of COVID-19.

The FDA has only approved ivermectin for humans to treat infections caused by some parasitic worms and head lice, and skin conditions like rosacea, not COVID-19, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Some forms of ivermectin are approved to prevent heartworm disease and treat certain internal and external parasites in animals.

The Department of Health and Human Services also has a list of approved COVID-19 treatments here. 

SOURCE OF THE MISINFORMATION

The false claim that the FDA approved the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 appears to be a misinterpretation of a recent article published on the conservative website The Epoch Times.

The article “Doctors Can Prescribe Ivermectin for COVID-19: FDA Lawyer” was published on Aug. 10. The article quoted an attorney representing the FDA and other federal health agencies who were being sued by a group of private doctors.

According to the article, several doctors affiliated with America’s Frontline Doctors – a group that has been connected to medical misinformation – filed a lawsuit against the FDA and other federal health agencies for damages because the FDA said ivermectin should not be used to treat COVID-19.

According to court documents reviewed by VERIFY, the doctors argued “the FDA breached this critical boundary between federal and state authority by directing the public, including health professionals and patients, not to use ivermectin to treat COVID-19, even though the drug remains fully approved for human use.”

The Epoch Times reported that during oral arguments during a hearing on a motion to dismiss the case, a lawyer representing the FDA said the “FDA explicitly recognizes that doctors do have the authority to prescribe ivermectin to treat COVID."

According to the motion, the FDA’s lawyers argued the FDA has never told doctors what they could or couldn’t prescribe to treat COVID-19, but instead has offered guidance and recommendations. As part of that guidance, the FDA advised ivermectin should not be used to treat COVID-19 and doctors shouldn’t prescribe it – nothing said they couldn’t, though.

“None of the cited statements [website, social media posts, etc.] asked or instructed doctors not to prescribe ivermectin products to prevent or treat COVID-19,” the motion to dismiss said.

The FDA’s lawyers never said it is approved for use, nor did they say doctors should be prescribing it. Ivermectin is not FDA-approved for use to treat COVID-19, and the FDA still recommends it should not be used to treat COVID-19. That lawsuit was eventually dismissed, and lawyers for the doctors have filed an appeal. 

If you have any questions about your care or treatment plans, as always, please consult your physician.