THE Department of Health (DOH)-Northern Mindanao is not recommending the use of Ivermectin for prevention or treatment of Covid-19.
According to a DOH advisory, Ivermectin may only be used for its indication as anti-parasitic or off-label only in strict clinical trial settings such as the one being conducted by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development.
The advisory presented the result of a systematic review of six randomized controlled trials of good methodological quality. The result showed that Ivermectin did not reduce the risk of death among patients with mild to severe Covid-19.
It also did not reduce the duration of hospitalization and the time to resolution of symptoms.
A systematic review conducted by a Cochrane research group also produced results stating that the Ivermectin did not reduce the need for mechanical ventilation or supplemental oxygen or unwanted events in inpatients.
It also did not increase nor reduce negative Covid-19 tests, did not make a difference in length of hospital stay, did not improve outpatients’ condition, and did not prevent confirmed Covid-19.
The DOH-Northern Mindanao urges all stakeholders to continue strengthening their Covid-19 response as well as their vaccination program.
