“You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”
– U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Ivermectin is a word that’s been heard a lot since the early days of the pandemic when it was discovered that it might be effective in treating Covid-19. The drug is used to treat parasitic infections in livestock and specific infections in people.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) state that “Ivermectin is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved antiparasitic drug used to treat several neglected tropical diseases, including onchocerciasis, helminthiases, and scabies. For these indications, ivermectin has been widely used and is generally well-tolerated. Ivermectin is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of any viral infection…The Panel recommends against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19, except in clinical trials” (COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines).
The US Food and Drug Administration has the following statement on its website concerning use of the drug Ivermectin:
There seems to be a growing interest in a drug called ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in humans. Certain animal formulations of ivermectin such as pour-on, injectable, paste, and “drench,” are approved in the U.S. to treat or prevent parasites in animals. For humans, ivermectin tablets are approved at very specific doses to treat some parasitic worms, and there are topical (on the skin) formulations for head lice and skin conditions like rosacea.
However, the FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical attention, including hospitalization, after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for livestock (FDA).
When people decided to use Ivermectin to cure their Covid-19 infection, they soon discovered how difficult it was to get a hold of. Some decided to take matters into their own hands by buying Ivermectin Paste Dewormer which is used to treat parasitic infections in horses. This is where the term “horse paste” comes from. This product contains an appropriate amount of the drug suitable for horses that weigh a lot more than a human. Some people overdosed on horse paste and ended up in the emergency room. The situation got bad enough that the US Food and Drug Administration posted the following tweet:
Social Media Trends as of July 30, 2022
Facebook #ivermectin: 36,000 people are posting about this
TikTok #ivermectin: 102.9 million views
YouTube #ivermectin: 1,600 videos and 950 channels
Google Trends: ivermectin first appeared during the week of April 5, 2020 when research came out around this time showing the drug was able to eliminate Covid cells in 48 hours. Since then, interest in the search term has gone up dramatically reaching its peak during the week of April 29, 2021 as more people started looking online for ways to cure their Covid-19 infection instead of getting vaccinated.
Facebook #horsepaste: people are posting about this
TikTok #horsepaste: 306,700 views
Google Trends: horsepaste registered interest during the final week of 2019 but didn’t really take off till March 2020. The popularity of the search term peaked during April 2020.
Sources:
BBC News channel. “Why some Americans treat Covid with an unproven horse dewormer – BBC News.” YouTube. September 15, 2021. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0HOYn6sO8Q.
FDA. “Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19.” US Food and Drug Administration. URL: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-ivermectin-treat-or-prevent-covid-19.
“Horsepaste” meme – Homer Simpson drooling. Meme Generator. URL: https://memegenerator.net/instance/85800949/homer-simpson-drooling-mmmmmm-horse-paste.
“Ivermectin.” COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines. National Institutes of Health. Last updated: April 29, 2022. URL: https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/therapies/antiviral-therapy/ivermectin/.
US FDA. “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.” Twitter. August 21, 2021. URL: https://twitter.com/us_fda/status/1429050070243192839?lang=en.