Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor said Tuesday his office has found no legal basis for medical boards to discipline doctors for prescribing ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ivermectin for use by people and animals for some parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions. However, the FDA has not approved its use to treat or prevent COVID-19 in humans. Also, no scientific studies have found the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine effective in preventing or treating COVID-19.
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O’Connor said in a statement that his office neither condones nor condemns a specific course of treatment for COVID-19.
“I stand behind doctors who believe it is in their patients’ best interests to receive ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine,” O’Connor said.
A northwest Arkansas jail and its doctor are being sued by inmates who say they were unknowingly given ivermectin to treat COVID-19, despite health officials’ warnings that the drug shouldn’t be used for that purpose.
