Ivermectin Fact Sheet

Jan 03, 2025

Cross-post from Day 8

This great post by Dr Mary Talley Bowden lays out the facts on ivermectin and, amidst so much misinformation, should put your mind at rest. Thanks, Mary! -

Tess Lawrie, MBBCh, PhD

Safety:

• Approved for human use in 1987.

• Has been administered over 4 billion times around the world.

• On the WHO’s list of essential medications.

• Won a nobel prize for its impact in global health

• Not considered toxic to liver, kidneys or lungs (LiverTox, NephroTox and

PneumoTox databases)

• 2 RCTs showing no adverse events in using ivermectin to treat COVID at

0.6mg/kg/day.

• 2020 systematic review and meta analysis in Journal of Antimicrobial

Chemotherapy, Navarro et al. Looked at 6 studies and showed no increase in

adverse events with doses higher than 0.4mg/kg/day (up to 0.8mg/kg/day)

• Over 10 years of studies showing ivermectin inhibits the replication of at least a

dozen RNA viruses.

• No drugs with absolute contraindications. Rare reports of increased INR when

taken with warfarin.

• Pregnancy class C. Use with caution, weigh risks versus beneﬁt. Not studied

in pregnant women.

• Does not cross blood-brain barrier.

• Metabolized by the liver. CY3PA4

• Half life of 18 hours. Peak concentration in 4 hours.

• Side eﬀects listed in the patient information packet: Headache, dizziness, muscle pain, nausea, or diarrhea may occur. (0.9 - 2.8%)

• Study of 963 patients (treated for parasites): tachycardia (3.5%), peripheral edema (3.2%), eosinophilia (3%), facial edema (1.2%), orthostatic hypotension (1.1%), hemoglobin increase (1%)

• FDA approved to treat strongyloidiasis and river blindness (onchocerciasis). Oﬀ-label for blepharitis, head lice, scabies, rosacea.

• Not studied in children weighing less than 15kg.

• LD50 is a benchmark number used to gauge a medication’s toxicity. The median LD50 of ivermectin ranges from 11.6mg/kg - 87.2mg/kg in adult mice and rats. The doses used for COVID range from 0.2mg/kg - 0.6mg/kg (19 - 436x the treatment dose.)

• 14 week daily dose of 0.4mg/kg had no adverse eﬀects in rats. A 14 week daily dose of 0.5mg/kg daily had no adverse eﬀects in dogs.

Efficacy:

Real-time meta-analysis of studies looking at ivermectin for COVID:

Currently up to 105 studies, 52 RCTs Significantly lower risk is seen for mortality, ventilation, ICU admission, hospitalization, recovery, cases, and viral clearance. All remain significant for higher quality studies. 64 studies from 58 independent teams in 27 different countries show significant improvements.
Meta analysis using the most serious outcome shows 61% [50‑69%] and 85% [77‑90%] lower risk for early treatment and prophylaxis, with similar results for higher quality studies, primary outcomes, peer-reviewed studies, and for RCTs.
Results are very robust — in worst case exclusion sensitivity analysis 63 of 105 studies must be excluded to avoid finding statistically significant efficacy.
Late treatment shows 43% decrease in mortality, 47% decrease in intubation