The national legal battle over the use of a primarily veterinary drug to treat COVID-19 has spawned 14 lawsuits in New York.
Each seeks approval to administer ivermectin to seriously ill patients where other drugs and treatments have failed. Four of those cases have been dismissed due to the deaths of the patients involved.
Ivermectin is primarily used to treat and prevent parasites in animals, but is sometimes prescribed for humans for certain conditions. Clinical trials are continuing to see if federal approval can be gained for its use in COVID cases.
Ralph Lorigo, a Buffalo attorney who is also chair of Erie County's Conservative Party, is handling one of the New York State cases. He is also involved with some 60 other ivermectin lawsuits in 25 states. Lorigo told the New York Times that ivermectin should be administered to severely ill COVID patients as a last resort, based on positive results in other countries.
Doctors and hospitals are opposed to the lawsuits, citing in part the ethical and medical ramifications of judges overruling health officials on the safety and efficacy of drugs.
