ERs backed up with ivermectin overdosers while gunshot victims wait: Oklahoma DR

I’m going to add this to the list of events that the media have reported that turned out to be not true at all like.

Let’s upperbound an average worst-case situation. If every single person ingested Ivermectin and needed emergency care last month that did, that would be 88000/50 people in need of emergency care per state assuming a uniform distribution of such cases across the US by state, which I know is false but we are just concerned with the order of the problem. Still that’s 1700 people per state, or about 50 people per day per state in need of care. How many hospitals are there per state on average? Oklahoma has ~150, so that’s 50/150 cases per hospital per day. That’s .3 people per hospital per day seeking emergency care for Ivermectin. Does this “clog” the system? Maybe if it’s already overwhelmed by COVID, which it seems to be in Oklahoma.

Of course, this is a back of the envelope approximation, but I’m skeptical that this is the problem it is being presented as.

From the FDA page linked in the article on the horse formulation:

"Ivermectin Products for Animals Are Different from Ivermectin Products for People

For one thing, animal drugs are often highly concentrated because they are used for large animals like horses and cows, which weigh a lot more than we do—a ton or more. Such high doses can be highly toxic in humans. Moreover, the FDA reviews drugs not just for safety and effectiveness of the active ingredients, but also for the inactive ingredients. Many inactive ingredients found in products for animals aren’t evaluated for use in people. Or they are included in much greater quantity than those used in people. In some cases, we don’t know how those inactive ingredients will affect how ivermectin is absorbed in the human body."

They also claim to be concerned that people may not take the medication when they may need it; yet leave out that it should be taken under supervision, can interfere with common medications, and can overdose.

"When Can Taking Ivermectin Be Unsafe?

...

There’s a lot of misinformation around, and you may have heard that it’s okay to take large doses of ivermectin. It is not okay.

Even the levels of ivermectin for approved human uses can interact with other medications, like blood-thinners. You can also overdose on ivermectin, which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension (low blood pressure), allergic reactions (itching and hives), dizziness, ataxia (problems with balance), seizures, coma and even death."

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-shoul...

Edit: Grammar and formatting.

The Dr. who reported this is Dr. Jason A. Mcelyea who works at Northeastern Health System Sequoyah in Sallisaw, OK.

They have 6 ER beds.

American institutions have completely lost the trust of the lesser-educated demographic, are oblivious to this phenomenon, and sneer at those who distrust them instead of trying to be conscious of it and correct it.

Something rotten is making livestock paste look a lot better to these people than taking a chance in a well-reputed doctor's office. What is driving the rural, poorly educated American to buy livestock medicine from the tractor supply store instead of going to the doctor? Let's put it this way, why do you and I go to the doctor? Would we still go there if we found the messengers of consensus, evidence-based medicine were saying and doing things we found untrustworthy or even worthy of moral condemnation?

Speaking on anecdotal experience of having grown up in rural America, you don't really ever admit you're afraid of anything, especially going to the doctor. Instead, you cover it up with anger, denial, and magical thinking. I used to think "essential oils" and the like were people genuinely falling victim to naturalistic fallacy but then ivermectin for COVID-19 happened. The name "ivermectin" doesn't really sound natural to me. It still sounds "medicine-y". But it's coming from a place you find more reputable than a doctor.

I think these people are shit scared to go to the doctor because they don't trust anything anyone on the TV tells them anymore. And why would that happen? Not necessarily that they're doing anything wrong, but they're tone deaf to this demographic, oblivious on how to communicate effectively to them. Call it an effect of class divide, perhaps.

So finally, they turn to people that, astoundingly, seem more trustworthy: far right figures on social media, naturopathic woo, you name it. Maybe they talk differently. Maybe they use themes and culture familiar to them. Or maybe they just don't straight up demean them like segments of the news media are wont to do.

If we fix a communication gap that potentially exists, how many more lives could we save instead of laughing and sneering at people confounded enough to choose horse dewormer over a well-tested vaccine?