A group of physicians that promoted ivermectin as a COVID-19 medication, which was disregarded, is now touting the drug as a treatment for influenza and respiratory syncytial virus despite a lack of evidence, The Washington Post reported Feb. 26.
The physician group formed in 2020 as the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance to help "prevent and treat COVID." In a recent post, the FLCCC said masks make people sicker and social distancing is a myth. The group also says ivermectin can be used to treat COVID-19, flu and RSV as the CDC and other medical experts strongly disagree.
The FLCCC cites test tube studies for their treatment recommendations, but John Moore, PhD, a microbiology and immunology professor at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, pushed back on this connection.
"If you threw Coca-Cola into cell culture, you would see an antiviral effect," Dr. Moore told the Post. "But you wouldn't want to be squirting Coca-Cola up your nose against the flu and RSV."
Multiple studies have shown ivermectin is not an effective treatment for COVID-19, and the World Health Organization agrees. A CDC spokesperson told the Post the drug is not a proven treatment for flu or RSV.