LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Medical Board is investigating reports that inmates at a county jail were prescribed the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin to combat COVID-19 even though it hasn’t been approved to treat the coronavirus.
Board Director Amy Embry on Thursday declined to elaborate on the panel’s investigation, which she said began in the last two days. Embry said the investigation came in response to multiple complaints related to news reports about the use of ivermectin at the Washington County jail.
Washington County’s sheriff confirmed Tuesday night that jail inmates had been prescribed ivermectin, but did not say how many. It wasn’t clear if all the inmates who were prescribed the medication had tested positive for COVID-19.
“There is an open investigation and we can’t comment on it right now,” Embry told The Associated Press.
Dr. Rob Karas, the jail’s physician, has said no inmates were forced to take the drug. Karas did not immediately respond to a message Thursday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ivermectin for use by people and animals for some parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions. The FDA has not approved its use in treating or preventing COVID-19 in humans.
“Using any treatment for COVID-19 that’s not approved or authorized by the FDA, unless part of a clinical trial, can cause serious harm,” the FDA said in a warning about the drug.
Embry declined to say who was the target of the board’s investigation. The board has authority over physicians, but not jail facilities.
Sheriff Tim Helder did not return a message Thursday, and a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to questions about the drug’s use.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that the sheriff’s office said Helder had learned of the drug’s use at the jail on Tuesday. In a July 20 email to Helder, Karas recommended the sheriff’s staff take it as a preventive measure against COVID-19 but did not mention its use on inmates. Karas has said he’s taken the drug, as have members of his family.
Health officials in Arkansas and Mississippi this week warned people to not take the veterinary formulation of the drug after seeing an uptick in calls to their poison control centers. The drug has been touted by some Republican lawmakers in Arkansas as a potential treatment for COVID-19.
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