(The Center Square) – More than two years after the pandemic ended, New Hampshire lawmakers are pushing a controversial plan that would authorize pharmacists to dispense the drug ivermectin to treat COVID-19 without a prescription.
Republicans in the House of Representatives amended a bill on Thursday by adding a requirement that pharmacists make the anti-parasitic drug available via standing order along with nicotine patches, birth control pills and other over-the-counter medicines. Backers of the plan say efforts to block access to the antiparasitic drug during the COVID-19 pandemic were an injustice and want the public to be able get the medicine if they want it.
“The news media and the government agencies were telling people if you used ivermectin, it was a horse medicine and you were an idiot,” state Rep. Linda McGrath, R-Hampton, said in remarks during Thursday’s House session. “I thought, that’s not right.”
Democrats opposed the amendment, saying claims made during the pandemic that the medicine is safe for treating the coronavirus have been debunked by established medical groups.
“We don’t make medical policy off anecdotal evidence and what we hear on the internet,” state Rep. Jessica Lamontagne, D-Dover, said in remarks on Thursday,
The proposal is similar to one approved by lawmakers in 2022, that was ultimately vetoed by then Republican Gov. Chris Sununu. At the time, Sununu said the medicine hasn’t been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration to ensure that it is safe to treat the coronavirus.
“All drugs and medications should be subject to that same rigorous process if they are to be dispensed by standing order,” Sununu wrote in his veto message. “Further, regardless of this veto, ivermectin remains available for individuals if prescribed by their doctor.”
Ivermectin was touted by some as a home remedy for COVID-19 during the pandemic. But it has also become a political flashpoint in the nationwide debate over treatment for the virus. During his first presidency, Republican Donald Trump touted the drug as an effective treatment for the virus.
Critics have pointed out that there are approved treatments for COVID-19 available, such as the antiviral drugs Paxlovid and molnupiravir.
Other public health groups including the American Medical Association, American Pharmacists Association and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists say they “strongly oppose” the ordering, prescribing or dispensing of ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19, until clinical trials are conducted.
The National Institutes of Health said in a 2022 advisory to clinicians that “there is insufficient evidence” for federal health officials “to recommend either for or against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19.”
“Results from adequately powered, well-designed, and well-conducted clinical trials are needed to provide more specific, evidence-based guidance on the role of ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19,” the federal agency said.
