Alberta Health Services says advisory group notes problems with ivermectin studies

Alberta Health Services says its scientific advisory group hasupdated its review into using ivermectin to treat COVID-19, warningthat existing studies have problems and the available evidencedoesn't deem it safe.

The province's health delivery agency says in a series of tweetsthat studies to date into using ivermectin, which isprimarily usedto treat cases of worms in livestock, on the novel coronavirus have"inadequate controls" and "flawed design."

The agency also notes the existing studies suffer from bias andsmall sample sizes, and that some of those previouslyshared havealso been withdrawn due to concerns over fraudulent data.

It says more research is necessary to determine the safety andeffectiveness of ivermectin in prevention or treatment ofCOVID-19.

On Friday, the agency issued a warning about the dangers ofivermectin after a doctor from Vancouver said in a socialmedia postthat he'd used the drug to treat three COVID-19 patients whilefilling in at a rural hospital in Rimbey, Alta. last month.

It says there remains considerable uncertainty if there is anybenefit with ivermectin, but there are known harms.