AMA, WisMed oppose ivermectin as a court ordered treatment for COVI

In a case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court that seeks to force physicians to provide substandard care, the American Medical Association (AMA) and Wisconsin Medical Society (WisMed) filed an amicus brief (PDF) arguing against ivermectin as a court ordered intervention for COVID-19 as the drug has not proven effective against the disease.

The amicus brief in Gahl v. Aurora Health notes that ivermectin is not within the standard of care for the treatment of COVID-19 and warned against the court compelling the use of a drug that medical consensus finds is unsupported by available medical evidence and discouraged by federal agencies and health authorities.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the Food & Drug Administration have issued advisories indicating that ivermectin is not authorized or approved for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. While the National Institutes of Health, World Health Organization, and Merck—the manufacturer of ivermectin—all state there is insufficient evidence to support the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19.

The AMA and WisMed stated in the brief, “The overwhelming majority of studies investigating ivermectin have not found it to be an effective COVID-19 treatment. The few dissenting studies that exist have ‘substantially evaporated under close scrutiny’ and even ivermectin’s manufacturer ‘do[es] not believe that the data available support the safety and efficacy of ivermectin for preventing or treating COVID-19. Thus, the consensus view of reasonable medical providers is that, apart from clinical trials, ivermectin should not be administered to treat COVID-19.”

Patients are encouraged to talk to their physicians about therapies authorized or approved for the treatment of COVID-19. These important conversations have been greatly complicated by misinformation about ivermectin and COVID-19. To provide patients with competent treatment, the AMA and WisMed urged the court to acknowledge the standard of care for the treatment of COVID-19 does not require physicians to administer ivermectin.

Spurred by a mission to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health, the AMA continues to work in the courts to support evidence-based measures that reduce the risk of infection, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 and ensure the health and safety of our nation’s workforces, families, and communities.

The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care.  The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises and, driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.