Johnston UNC Health Care emergency manager Lee Stikeleather, RN, offers guidance for dealing with the current surge of the COVID-19 Delta variant. Credit: Robert Willett

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a strong and unusual warning on Saturday: “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”

On Friday, Mississippi’s health department issued a warning that more than 70% of recent calls to the state’s poison center came after people took ivermectin bought at livestock supply centers.

The FDA was reacting to alarms from Mississippi, the state with the worst outbreak in the U.S., that people have been taking ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19. The drug is often used against parasites in livestock.Thomas Dobbs, the state health officer, said earlier this week he knew of only one hospitalization but was hearing reports of people taking the drug “as a preventative.”

“Which I think is really kind of crazy, so please don’t do that,” he said at a news briefing. The health department warning said 85% of callers had mild symptoms but that one person was “was instructed to […]

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