The infamous horse tweet has finally been laid to rest.
On March 5, 2021 the FDA invaded my exam room. No shots were fired, but casualties resulted nonetheless. I fought back, and after a series of attacks and a long occupation, the FDA has finally retreated and fled back to Washington, DC. Reconstruction may take longer than the war, but FDA overreach into my office— and every doctor’s office in America— has now been halted.
Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deleted its infamous “You are not a horse” tweet and retired other publications about the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 following our landmark case, Apter v. Dep’t of Health and Human Services. Our goal was to stop the FDA from giving unlawful medical advice and interfering with the doctor-patient relationship.
After the Pfizer shot went on the market, the FDA launched a PR campaign to foist itself between me and my patients. To this day, every time I prescribe ivermectin I am reminded how this government agency unlawfully interfered in the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship, not only in my office, but across the country.
As a licensed physician in Texas, I have successfully treated over 6,000 COVID-19 patients. Every patient whom I was able to treat early has survived. I’ve relied on an array of medicines including ivermectin, an inexpensive drug the FDA approved for human use in 1987. Whether or not you believe ivermectin is an effective treatment for COVID-19 is beside the point: the FDA is not lawfully permitted to issue medical advice and interfere with the relationship between doctors and their patients.
The FDA’s role is to approve drugs, along with their labeling, for sale in America. It’s a gatekeeper, not a doctor. It has no authority to advise patients on what drug treatments to pursue and no accountability for patient outcomes. Yet it has repeatedly and unlawfully used its appearance of authority to deceive the public into thinking ivermectin is unsafe and unfit—even prohibited—for human consumption.
On its official website, the FDA published “Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19,” and FAQs asking “Should I take ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19?” with a decisive answer “No.” Missing from these webpages was the fact that the FDA cannot tell physicians or patients on what to take medications to use, or prohibit physicians from prescribing medications off-label.
On August 21, 2021, as COVID-19 cases surged for the third time since the pandemic started, the FDA launched a missile strike against ivermectin by broadcasting the now-infamous tweet featuring an attractive health care worker nuzzling a horse. Its caption (“You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”) unequivocally directed the public not to use ivermectin to treat COVID-19. The media embraced the horse theme with gusto— the tweet went viral, and ivermectin became known far and wide as only horse-dewormer. Reaching over twenty-four million people in less than a week, this tweet quickly became the most popular in FDA history.
On December 13, 2021, the FDA continued its attack, contacting the Federation of State Medical Boards and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy to warn against the use of ivermectin. Shortly thereafter, multiple doctors around the country, including myself, received formal complaints from their state medical boards regarding ivermectin prescriptions. Two-and-a-half years later, I am still trying to fight these charges.
Apart from the threats to my medical license, these government-funded directives on ivermectin have created unavoidable hurdles when treating my patients. Pharmacists won’t dispense it. Insurance companies won’t pay for it. Patients want reassurance that it’s safe—and I tell them it’s one of the safest medications I’ve ever prescribed.
Together with two other physicians experiencing the same difficulties, Dr. Robert Apter and Dr. Paul Marik, I took legal action against the FDA for their gross overreach. COVID-19 is not the first global pandemic, nor will it be the last. If the overreach of the FDA is not addressed now, its unlawful actions will no doubt continue, and doctors’ ability to practice medicine and help their patients will be restricted time and again.
The battle moved to the courts on June 2, 2022, and despite an initial setback, we kept fighting and have emerged victorious. After nearly two years and a resounding rebuke by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the FDA agreed to remove its misleading social media posts and consumer directives regarding ivermectin and COVID-19. The damage the FDA inflicted will linger, but future patients are now protected from one meaningful government intrusion into their medical care.
Thank you Dr. Bowden...you have my deepest respect and admiration for standing strong. I would expect nothing less from any Texan but unfortunately....I have been disappointed more than once during the last apocalyptic four years.
I wish I sought your practice out when after I had a physical with my family practice doctor. I asked her how she would treat me should I get sick. I asked about Ivermectin and HCQ and other therapeutics. She said the thing she was trained to say that “there’s no scientific basis, the data doesn’t show it works ( 🙄as if the jabs did) and then she said “ you can’t get it at the pharmacies anyhow, but don’t have any questions about the vaccine?” ( I was unjabbed). I left wishing I had brought papers and info. I told myself I was going to find another doctor. A week later I was exposed to the virus by two of my high school kids. I got a hold of IVM by a telehealth provider. Unfortunately it took a week to get it and it was not the dose I needed by then as I was getting sick. I had been doing all the supplements forever, but the virus was taking hold. Got a dose of monoclonal antibodies right before the government took control of that as well. Still ended up going to the hospital spending 11 days and then 11 days in rehab. I could go on with this story but the bottom line is, I KNEW IVM would have been more helpful with the proper dosage IF I HAD A DR WHO WAS NOT AFRAID TO USE IT! I have been following you Dr Bowden because as a former RN, I was very upset by what I saw happening. I thank God for surviving and for those courageous and convicted medical personnel that stood firm and strong, including Dr Bowden.