More than half of all U.S. states have proposed or passed legislation designed to promote access to ivermectin, according to data from the Federation of State Medical Boards.
Twenty-eight states have bills that would either restrict medical boards' authority to discipline clinicians who prescribe the unproven COVID-19 treatment, allow off-label use of the medication or both. Many of these states are concentrated in the Midwest and Southeast.
The legislation reflects growing political pressure to restrict boards' authority to penalize physicians over health misinformation.
In July 2021, the Federation of State Medical Boards warned that physicians spreading COVID-19 misinformation online and in the media may be at risk of losing their medical licenses. However, medical boards penalized just eight physicians in 2021 for furthering such misinformation, according to Politico.