Salvadoran NGO asks to stop delivery of ivermectin antiparasitic to treat covid | International | News

The humanitarian organization Cristosal asked two state agencies in El Salvador this Thursday to stop the “widespread” delivery and without a prescription to treat the covid-19 of the antiparasitic ivermectin and the antiviral molnupiravir.

The representatives of the organization went to the National Pharmacovigilance Center and the National Public Health Council to present their request.

Ruth López, head of the Anticorruption and Justice area of ​​Cristosal, told journalists that they asked the corresponding institutions to pronounce to “prevent these medications from being given in a generalized way”.

The Ministry of Health (Minsal) currently distributes packages of medicines to people suspected of being infected with covid-19 or with a positive test result. These packets contain the antiparasitic ivermectin and the antiviral molnupiravir.

Lopez indicated that the molnupiravirof which the Government announced in mid-February the purchase of 4 million doses, It should only be given on prescription.

WHO advises against ivermectin

In the case of ivermectin, whose use to treat the coronavirus has been discouraged by the World Health Organization (WHO) since March 2021, “it has a clear contraindication” and is used for the treatment of parasites, pointed out the Cristosal member .

The Minister of Health, Francisco Alabí, pointed out in February that molnupiravir “is a state-of-the-art medicine, it is a medicine that few countries can have.”

Alabí added that this antiviral “does not come to replace the vaccine.”

The Salvadoran government recently authorized the inoculation of a fourth dose of the covid-19 vaccine for those over 12 years of age.

El Salvador has placed 10,371,554 vaccines against covid-19of which 33,804 correspond to the fourth dose.

The authorities have registered 161,052 official cases during the pandemic, of which 4,115 people have died, 141,145 have recovered and 15,792 are “active”.

Added to these data are 4,958 suspected cases, a figure in which the Government has been including people with symptoms and a positive antigen test for the coronavirus. (I)

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