Several Arkansas prisoners claimed they were administered Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 without their awareness. The state medical board is now investigating the prison physician who prescribed Ivermectin Antibiotics, steroids, and vitamins that were provided to them to treat COVID-19, according to many detainees at the Washington County jail.

When news surfaced last month that Dr. Rob Karas was giving the anti-parasitic to inmates, they discovered it was Ivermectin. The jail nurses began asking the prisoners if they agreed to take the medications when they were provided at that time. Several didn't, according to Edrick Floreal-Wooten, an inmate at the jail.

Karas, who is being investigated by the Arkansas state medical board, claims that the prisoners voluntarily accepted the medications, which the detainees deny. Multiple hospitalizations have been recorded by the FDA for persons who have self-medicated with Ivermectin, as per Business Insider.

Jail physician under investigation

Karas could not be reached for comment, although he did give KNWA a written statement last month. He cited "in vitro and controlled research, as well as a substantial quantity of anecdotal data" as proof that Ivermectin is a COVID-19 treatment.

After the usage of the drug was exposed during a hearing of the Washington County quorum court, the county's governing body, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas claimed it had received similar complaints from prisoners. The ACLU has asked Sheriff Tim Helder to reply by Thursday to questions about whether he has told or will tell Dr. Rob Karas and his team to stop using Ivermectin for COVID-19.

According to the ACLU, several inmates are considering filing a lawsuit to prevent the medication from being administered. The fact that detainees were not notified they were being administered the medication was deemed unconscionable by the group. Several detainees said they were told the medication was vitamins or steroids, which has called on the facility to cease administering it.

After viewing a news article about Ivermectin being prescribed to convicts, Floreal-Wooten claimed he refused to take the medicine last week. When questioned if he would have taken the medicine if he had known it was Ivermectin from the start, he said, "Never, ever. I'm not livestock. I'm a human," Daily Mail reported.

The detainees' remarks contradict the sheriff's and the jail's physician's claims that the medication was used voluntarily. The state Medical Board has launched an investigation into the drug's usage in the jail.

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US demands of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 increase

Prescriptions for Ivermectin have increased across the US this summer, prompting health authorities in Arkansas and other states to advise against using it to treat COVID-19, citing an increase in poison control center complaints about humans taking the animal form of the drug.

Last Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning to doctors about the trend. According to the CDC, there is insufficient evidence that Ivermectin is useful in preventing or treating COVID-19; and the government has not approved its use against the virus.

The abuse of the anti-parasitic medicine Ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 is on the rise although it has yet to be proved to be an effective treatment. Despite the lack of any legitimate scientific research supporting its usage, celebrities such as Joe Rogan have taken to social media to promote the drug, which is dangerously promoting the continued quackery.

To put the absurdity of it all into perspective, the CDC revealed that Ivermectin prescriptions had increased to 88,000 per week. Prior to the pandemic, the weekly average was about 3,600. Furthermore, the American Association of Poison Control Centers has reported a five-fold increase in the number of complaints about its usage, with the majority of calls coming from those who use veterinary formulations.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to the public to cease misusing anti-parasitic medications as a result of these findings. The CDC issued a notice to health care professionals and the general public last week regarding reports of severe disease associated with the use of Ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19. The American Medical Association (AMA) has released a statement strongly condemning "the ordering, prescription, or dispensing of Ivermectin outside of a clinical study to prevent or cure COVID-19," as per WSWS.

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