(AP) Maine pharmacists are seeing an increase in the number of prescriptions for ivermectin, enough for the Maine Board of Pharmacy to issue a warning to the state’s pharmacists.
Ivermectin has been promoted by Republican lawmakers and conservative talk show hosts and amplified via social media to millions of Americans who remain resistant to getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
The drug can cause harmful side effects to humans and there’s little evidence it helps treat the virus.
Tom Edge, the retail pharmacy manager for Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, told the Portland Press Herald that he refused to fill six prescriptions in the last month.
The drug has limited use in humans to treat parasitic worms and lice. It’s primarily used to deworm horses and cattle.
Typically, ivermectin is rarely used on humans, Edge said, and he filled only three legitimate prescriptions for the drug in the past year.
“We can refuse any prescription that we feel is not being used for a legitimate purpose,” he said.
Janelle Tirrell, a veterinarian in Palermo, said ivermectin is an effective de-wormer for her four-legged patients at Third Coast Equine. But she said it’s dangerous for humans.
