The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reached a legal agreement in which it agreed to take down all social media posts encouraging Americans to avoid using ivermectin to treat COVID-19.
A group of doctors filed suit against the agency in 2022 alleging that it illegally interfered with the medical use of the drug during the pandemic. The lawsuit was initially turned down on the grounds that the FDA enjoys sovereign immunity.
But the legal action was revived by a federal appeals court in September which overturned the lower court ruling in the case. The appeals court found sufficient basis for the lawsuit to proceed.
Starting 2021, the FDA mounted a misinformation campaign on ivermectin – an inexpensive, Nobel Prize-winning medication that showed promising signs in the early treatment of COVID-19.
In 2022, Doctors fought back and filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health… pic.twitter.com/4zcVWolOJB
— O’Keefe Media Group (@OKeefeMedia) March 26, 2024
The Fifth Circuit Appellate Court determined that the FDA is “not a physician” and therefore does not have the immunity it claimed. The agency in 2021 began telling people that the drug was only intended for animals and made posts criticizing its use against COVID.
But according to Judge Don Willett, the agency is charged with informing, announcing and apprising. But it may not “endorse, denounce or advise. The doctors have plausibly argued that FDA’s posts fell on the wrong side of the line between telling about and telling to.”
One infamous FDA post chastised the public with the message, “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”
This despite the long history of the Nobel prize winning medicine being used for treatment of humans.
One of the three physicians who brought suit against the FDA was Dr. Mary Talley Bowden of Houston. She is an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist who accused the agency of a dramatic overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement to The Texan, Bowden explained, “After nearly two years and a resounding rebuke by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the FDA has agreed to remove its misleading social media posts and consumer directives regarding ivermectin and COVID-19.”
Bowden noted the FDA produced an article titled, “Why You Should Not Take Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19.”
The doctor said that the article did not acknowledge that the medical community could legally prescribe the medication. She did, and testified that through her efforts thousands avoided hospitalization with ivermectin and other treatments.
The drug has been approved for human use since 1987. However, after the FDA’s concerted effort to suppress its use, many pharmacies refused to dispense ivermectin and insurance companies rejected covering its cost.
