Ivermectin Does Not Reduce Risk of Covid Hospitalization, Large Study Finds | Hacker News Reader

Ivermectin Does Not Reduce Risk of Covid Hospitalization, Large Study Finds

nytimes.com

29 pointsmzs10 comments

For those who missed it, there’s a theory [1] that ivermectin actually does improve Covid outcomes - provided you live in a region of the world where parasitic worm infections are common.

Ie: if you have a preexisting worm infection and are given corticosteroids to treat Covid, those steroids will juice up the parasite infection and possibly even lead to death. Ivermectin, being an anti-parasite drug, kills the worms and thus indirectly correlates with better Covid outcomes.

There’s probably more to the ivermectin story but imo this explanation goes a long way towards squaring the circle on the ivermectin question (of which I’ve read convincing arguments both for and against) without getting into all the insane rhetoric and politics.

[1] https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/11/18/ivermect...

Ivermectin or other known possibly effective, and harmless, drug was still better than "stay at home for 10 days and do Nothing. If start feeling really bad call the emergency number" for a new unknown disease

Are you saying that “quarantining + something not known to have an effect” is better than quarantining alone? Why?

Forgetting the politics of this for a minute, given 2 choices 1. Do Nothing 2. Take a drug that might not help but almost certainly won't hurt, why is option 1 the obvious and logical choice?

If I had some disease and hundreds or people told me that spinning around in circles for a few minutes would cure it, I might think it illogical and silly, but in my mind it would be irrational not to just try it when the alternative treatment is nothing. Perhaps that is deeply flawed thinking *shrugs

> If I had some disease and hundreds or people told me that spinning around in circles for a few minutes would cure it,

If you believed in that cure then it would be likely you'd treat the disease with less caution and be more likely to catch and spread it due to believing in a fairy tale cure. You also may avoid getting actual treatments due to believing you already had an effective treatment. Both of these were huge issues with ivermectin.

> Take a drug that might not help but almost certainly won't hurt

Knowing for certain that it won't hurt, would require studies to be sure. Taking some drug while being sick could just as well make it a lot worse.

Most of the positive studies I've read had the intervention sooner.

This study didn't begin treatment until patients had been symptomatic for upto 7 days.

This article [1] took a look at a lot of studies. This whole Ivermectin is just an internet phenomenon.

[1] https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/ivermectin-much-more-t...

Shocked, says I.

Thanks, Captain Renault. And here are your Pfizer and Moderna winnings.

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