FLCCC Alliance Blasts WHO over Ivermectin Guideline
One of the first reactions to the new WHO guideline over Ivermectin came from the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, which issued a statement on the very same day, highlighting major flaws in the new guideline. (see article in French)
FLCCC is “disappointed” by “what appears to be a deliberate omission of data by the World Health Organization in arriving at its decision to not recommend ivermectin to prevent and treat COVID-19.”
“The latest guidance from WHO ignores several large clinical trials where ivermectin was proven to prevent mortality by more than 68%.”
FLCCC’s statement warns countries about following the new WHO guideline:
“If the WHO guidance is followed, it will result in a further deprivation of a lifesaving drug and will only prolong the pandemic as it will continue to threaten the health of the global population.”
“I am deeply troubled that the WHO made this hasty decision on guidance before reviewing all available data,” said Pierre Kory, MD, MPH, president and chief medical officer of the FLCCC.
“Their recommendation ignores the evidence, creates more controversy, and will only lead to continuing suffering and death from COVID-19.”
“There are now over 24 randomized trials results that have been reported to the Unitaid/WHO team yet todays guidance was inexcusably based on a faulty analysis of just 16 of the available trials.”
“Further, these erroneous findings directly conflict with numerous other peer-reviewed expert analyses that have found the data overwhelmingly demonstrates that ivermectin saves lives from COVID-19. There is no reason not to recommend it for everyone as a safe drug for prevention and treatment.”
“To ignore the data the way the WHO has, does a disservice to science and to public health. It is time that as physicians we trust our own knowledge on how best to treat our patients.” said Kory.
“Allowing large, conflicted bureaucracies to do the thinking for us will only lead to continued and unnecessary suffering from the pandemic.”
See full FLCCC Alliance Statement dated March 31.
Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance Statement on Weak Guidance on Ivermectin from the World Health Organization (WHO)
WHO ignores significant data, including several large clinical trials, while claiming insufficient evidence to recommend the use of ivermectin to prevent and treat COVID-19
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), a group of highly published, world-renowned critical care physicians and scholars, is disappointed by what appears to be a deliberate omission of data by the World Health Organization in arriving at its decision to not recommend ivermectin to prevent and treat COVID-19. The latest guidance from WHO ignores several large clinical trials where ivermectin was proven to prevent mortality by more than 68%. If the WHO guidance is followed, it will result in a further deprivation of a lifesaving drug and will only prolong the pandemic as it will continue to threaten the health of the global population.
The latest guidance from the WHO is out of alignment with many national and local health
authorities around the world where ivermectin has been proven to prevent and treat COVID-19.
These countries include, Bulgaria, Slovakia, India, Egypt, Peru, Zimbabwe, and Bolivia, and in several regions a growing number of health authorities have advocated for, or adopted ivermectin across Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and South Africa and it is now the standard of care in Mexico City.
“I am deeply troubled that the WHO made this hasty decision on guidance before reviewing all available data,” said Pierre Kory, MD, MPH, president and chief medical officer of the FLCCC.
“Their recommendation ignores the evidence, creates more controversy, and will only lead to continuing suffering and death from COVID-19. There are now over 24 randomized trials results that have been reported to the Unitaid/WHO team yet todays guidance was inexcusably based on a faulty analysis of just 16 of the available trials. Further, these erroneous findings directly conflict with numerous other peer-reviewed expert analyses that have found the data overwhelmingly demonstrates that ivermectin saves lives from COVID-19. There is no reason not to recommend it for everyone as a safe drug for prevention and treatment.”
The recent results of a comprehensive assessment of existing ivermectin trials demonstrated that it reduces the risks of transmission of COVID-19 by more than 90%. The Technical Working Group of the British Ivermectin Recommendation Development (BIRD) group presented the results to their Recommendation Development Panel and the presentation laid out the detailed results of a systematic review and meta-analysis of 21 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of ivermectin on over 2,500 patients.
“To ignore the data the way the WHO has, does a disservice to science and to public health. It is time that as physicians we trust our own knowledge on how best to treat our patients.” said Pierre Kory, MD, MPH, president and chief medical officer of the FLCCC. “Allowing large, conflicted bureaucracies to do the thinking for us will only lead to continued and unnecessary suffering from the pandemic.”
The Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance
Pierre Kory, MD; Keith Berkowitz, MD; Paul E. Marik, MD; Howard Kornfeld, MD; G. Umberto Meduri; MD Fred Wagshul, MD; Joseph Varon, MD; Scott Mitchell, MBChB; Jose Iglesias, DO; Eivind Vinjevoll, MD; Eric Osgood, MD.
Visit the alliance website: https://covid19criticalcare.com/
See the WHO March 31 Statement.
WHO advises that ivermectin only be used to treat COVID-19 within clinical trials
The current evidence on the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 patients is inconclusive. Until more data is available, WHO recommends that the drug only be used within clinical trials.
This recommendation, which applies to patients with COVID-19 of any disease severity, is now part of WHO’s guidelines on COVID-19 treatments.
Ivermectin is a broad spectrum anti-parasitic agent, included in WHO essential medicines list for several parasitic diseases. It is used in the treatment of onchocerciasis (river blindness), strongyloidiasis and other diseases caused by soil transmitted helminthiasis. It is also used to treat scabies.
A guideline development group was convened in response to the increased international attention on ivermectin as a potential treatment for COVID-19. This group is an independent, international panel of experts, which includes clinical care experts in multiple specialties and also include an ethicist and patient-partners.
The group reviewed pooled data from 16 randomized controlled trials (total enrolled 2407), including both inpatients and outpatients with COVID-19. They determined that the evidence on whether ivermectin reduces mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, need for hospital admission and time to clinical improvement in COVID-19 patients is of “very low certainty,” due to the small sizes and methodological limitations of available trial data, including small number of events.
The panel did not look at the use of ivermectin to prevent COVID-19, which is outside of scope of the current guidelines.
Note to the editor:
Previous recommendations on the use of therapeutics for COVID-19:
· Strong recommendation for the use systemic corticosteroids for severe or critically ill COVID-19 patients; with a conditional recommendation against their use in patients with mild/moderate COVID-19
· Conditional recommendation against administering remdesivir in addition to usual care.
· Strong recommendation against the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for treatment of COVID-19 of any severity
· Strong recommendation against administering lopinavir/ritonavir for treatment of COVID-19 of any severity
· Conditional recommendation for the use of low dose anticoagulants in hospitalized patients (this recommendation is part of the clinical management guidelines). We suggest the use of low dose anticoagulants rather than higher doses, unless otherwise indicated.
