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<\/p>\nFew subjects have been more controversial than ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine \u2014 two long-established, inexpensive medications widely and successfully used in many parts of the world for the prevention and treatment of COVID.<\/p>\n
By contrast, the use of both medications against COVID has been largely suppressed in the U.S, where doctors have been threatened<\/a> and punished <\/a>for prescribing them.<\/p>\n On Oct. 15, Nebraska Attorney General (AG) Doug Peterson issued a legal opinion<\/a> that Nebraska healthcare providers can legally prescribe<\/a> off-label medications like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID<\/a>, so long as they obtain informed consent from the patient.<\/p>\n However, if they did neglect to obtain consent, deceive, prescribe excessively high doses or other misconduct, they could be subject to discipline, Peterson wrote.<\/p>\n The AG\u2019s office emphasized it was not recommending any specific treatment for COVID. \u201cThat is not our role,\u201d Peterson wrote<\/a>. \u201cRather, we address only the off-label early treatment options discussed in this opinion and conclude that the available evidence suggests they might work for some people.\u201d<\/p>\n Peterson said allowing physicians to consider early treatments will free them to evaluate additional tools that could save lives, keep patients out of the hospital and provide relief for our already strained healthcare system.<\/p>\n The opinion<\/a>, based on an assessment of relevant scientific literature, was rendered in response to a request by Dannette Smith, CEO of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.<\/p>\n Smith asked the AG\u2019s office to look into whether doctors could face discipline or legal action under Nebraska\u2019s Uniform Credential Act<\/a> (UCA) \u2014 meant to protect public health, safety and welfare \u2014 if they prescribed ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter receiving your question and conducting our investigation, we have found significant controversy and suspect information about potential COVID-19 treatments,\u201d Peterson wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n For example, a paper published in the Lancet \u2014\u00a0one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world \u2014 denounced hydroxychloroquine as dangerous, yet the statistics were flawed and the authors refused to provide analyzed data.<\/p>\n The paper was retracted<\/a>, but not before countries stopped using the drug and trials were cancelled or interrupted.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Lancet\u2019s own editor-in-chief admitted that the paper was a \u2018fabrication,\u2019 a \u2018monumental fraud\u2019 and a \u2018shocking example of research misconduct\u2019 in the middle of a global health emergency,\u201d Peterson wrote in the opinion.<\/p>\n A recently published paper on COVID recognized that \u201cfor reasons that are yet to be clarified,\u201d early treatment has not been emphasized despite numerous U.S. healthcare providers advocating for early treatment and \u201cscores of treating and academic physicians\u201d \u2014 who have published papers in well respected journals \u2014 urging early interventions.<\/p>\n Peterson cited numerous studies<\/a> showing ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine reduced mortality by up to 75% or more when used as a preventative or prophylaxis for COVID, suggesting hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved had the drugs been widely used in America.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery citizen \u2014 Democrat or Republican \u2014 should be grateful for Doug Peterson\u2019s thoughtful and courageous counteroffensive against the efforts of Big Pharma<\/a>, its captive federal regulators, and its media and social media allies to silence doctors<\/a> and deny Americans life-saving treatments,\u201d Robert F. Kennedy Jr., chairman of Children\u2019s Health Defense, told The Defender<\/a> via email.<\/p>\n \u201cWe finally have a leader who puts constitutional rights, peer-reviewed science and human health above industry profits. Doug Peterson is uncowed and unbowed \u2014 a genuine hero on horseback for all Americans.\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n Children\u2019s Health Defense President Mary Holland agreed. \u201cThis Nebraska AG opinion lets doctors get back to being doctors \u2014 without being second-guessed by government, pharmacists and others interfering in the crucial doctor-patient relationship,\u201d Holland said.<\/p>\n Although the AG\u2019s office did not rule out the possibility that other off-label drugs might show promise \u2014 either now or in the future \u2014 as a prophylaxis or treatment against COVID, it confined its opinion to ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for the sake of brevity.<\/p>\n Nebraska AG highlights science on ivermectin<\/strong><\/p>\n In his legal opinion, Peterson concluded<\/a> evidence showed ivermectin demonstrated striking effectiveness in preventing and treating COVID, and any side effects were primarily minor and transient. \u201cThus, the UCA does not preclude physicians from considering ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of COVID,\u201d Peterson wrote.<\/p>\n In the decade leading up to the COVID pandemic, Peterson found numerous studies showing ivermectin\u2019s antiviral acti\u00advity against several RNA viruses by blocking the nuclear trafficking of viral proteins, adding to 50 years of research confirming ivermectin\u2019s antiviral effects.<\/p>\n In addition, safety data for ivermectin showed side effects were \u201cvanishingly small.\u201d The latest statistics available through VigiAccess reported only 5,674 adverse drug reac\u00adtions to ivermectin between 1992 and October 13, 2021, an \u201cincredibly low\u201d number given that 3.7 billion doses have been administered since the 1980s, Peterson wrote.<\/p>\n Peterson cited several studies showing ivermectin led to improvement of COVID outcomes<\/a> when used in early treatment or as a prophylaxis, while noting many studies with negative findings about ivermectin \u201cexcluded most available evidence<\/a>,\u201d cherry picked data<\/a> within studies, misreported data, made unsupported assertions<\/a> of adverse reactions to ivermectin and had \u201cconclusions<\/a>that did follow from evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n Peterson also found that epidemiological evidence<\/a> for ivermectin\u2019s effectiveness, derived by analyzing COVID-related data from various states, countries or regions is instructive in the context of a global pandemic.<\/p>\n