Reply to Dr Musa Nordin on Ivermectin

I refer to your news article above entitled “Ivermectin perlu dinilai dengan ujian klinikal sebeluem diluluskan - Dr Musa Nordin” dated 6 February 2021.

Dr Musa has questioned my call in an earlier article for the immediate approval for the use of Ivermectin as a very safe, easily available and cheap drug (in tablet form) to treat Covid-19 due to the emergency pandemic situation now, with no effective treatment yet for Covid-19.

Firstly, I wish to clarify that there are hardly any vaccine experts in our country today as we do not have a serious human vaccine development industry. The closest expert you may get is some (clinical pharmacologist & toxicologist) who studies the safety effects and efficacy of vaccines and drugs. The most important aspect of any vaccine and drug before it is to be approved for public use, is safety. The government is responsible, via the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA), to ensure the safety of all drugs and vaccines and NPRA has so far, done a good job.

In principle, as a former member of a WHO expert panel on chemical safety, I support the need to conduct the three phases of human clinical trials, in the interest of safety, for all vaccines or drugs before they are approved for public consumption. But human clinical trials can take many years and we are now in an emergency situation with many people being infected with Covid-19 and dying every day. Ivermectin could be our savior.

Ivermectin has been used for over 30 years by many millions of people with 3.7 billion doses distributed around the world with no reported severe side effects or deaths from taking it. Many recent studies around the world has shown that Ivermectin is also effective for treating Covid-19 and it has already saved many lives. Contrary to what Dr Musa said, the US National Institutes of Health has on 14 January 2021, upgraded the status of Ivermectin from “against” to “neither for or against” meaning that doctors in the US are now allowed to use Ivermectin to treat Covid-19.

Pfizer experimental vaccine was approved for use in Malaysia (without human clinical trials here) and in the US, under “Emergency Authorisation. So why can’t Ivermectin, which has been proven safe for more than 30 years, be approved under “Emergency Authorisation” as well? It can be used for prophylactic (prevention) purpose and for treating Covid patients. For prophylactic purpose, it can be immediately administered, focusing on public red zones and among the high infections areas first.

Ivermectin can also be considered as an emergency drug to be used PRIOR to the arrival of vaccines from overseas (which may be delayed) as a PLAN B. The most important consideration to make here is the safety of the medication.

If we weigh the pro and cons, I would like to appeal for Ivermectin to be approved as soon as possible for emergency use, and it should also be used under prescription by a doctor, as an additional safety measure.

Professor Dr Mustafa Ali Mohd

Clinical Pharmacologist & Toxicologist

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* The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.