Can ivermectin be used to treat COVID-19?
Ivermectin is not FDA-approved to treat COVID-19 patients.
The NIH, WHO, and EMA do not recommend ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 after reviewing clinical trial results.
Ivermectin products that are approved for use in animals should NOT be taken by humans. Veterinary products are formulated to treat large animals and contain far higher levels of ivermectin than products approved for human use.
What is Ivermectin?
- Ivermectin is a drug used to treat parasites in humans and animals.
- Ivermectin tablets are an FDA-approved medicine for the treatment of intestinal parasites, Strongyloides stercoralis and Onchocerca volvulus, and a cream is approved for the skin condition rosacea.
- Ivermectin has been established as safe for use in humans, but only at the recommended dosage level.
Is ivermectin an approved medicine by the FDA?
Yes, Ivermectin is approved by the FDA as:
- Ivermectin tablets (Stromectol) for treatment of intestinal worms Strongyloides stercoralis and Onchocerca volvulus.
- Ivermectin cream 1% (Soolantra) for treatment of rosacea.
The WHO Therapeutics and COVID-19 living guideline: Ivermectin
The WHO Therapeutics and COVID-19 living guidelines are the World Health Organization's (WHO) most up-to-date recommendations for the treatment of COVID-19.
They recommend that ivermectin should not be used in patients with non-severe disease, even in a research setting. This recommendation is the result of a systematic review of randomised clinical trials that used ivermectin for COVID-19.
The NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines: Ivermectin
The NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines are the National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s most up-to-date recommendations for the treatment of COVID-19.
The NHI panel does not recommend the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19.
The NHI panel recommends the use of Ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid), remdesivir, or molnupiravir for patients who are at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19.
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PRINCIPLE TRIAL
The PRINCIPLE trial (ISRCTN86534580) was a clinical trial investigating treatments for COVID-19 patients in the community who have a higher risk of serious illness. The study investigated a number of different treatments, including ivermectin.
The conclusion was that Ivermectin was not likely to provide a clinically meaningful improvement in recovery, hospital admissions, or longer-term outcomes.
How was ivermectin thought to work on COVID-19?
- For the SARS-CoV-2 virus to make you sick, it has to first infect your cells.
- Then, while inside the cell, the virus makes heaps of copies of itself, so it can spread around your body.
- The virus also has ways of reducing the way your body fights the infection.
- During the infection of the cell, some viral proteins go into the cell nucleus, and from here they can decrease the body’s ability to fight the virus, which means the infection can get worse.
- To get into the nucleus, the viral proteins need to bind a cargo transporter, which lets them in.
- Ivermectin was thought to block the cargo transporter, so the viral proteins would not be able to get into the nucleus. This is how some scientists thought Ivermectin may work against SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Treatments for COVID-19
For more information on COVID-19 treatments see: COVID-19: Treatments and Vaccines
Bottom line
- Ivermectin should not be used as a treatment for COVID-19.
- Clinical trials using ivermectin for COVID-19 have not produced evidence supporting the use of ivermectin for COVID-19 treatment.
- Ivermectin tablets are FDA FDA-approved medicine for some types of intestinal worms, and ivermectin cream is FDA-approved for rosacea treatment.
- Both oral and topical ivermectin have a good safety profile at standard dosing levels.
References
- Ivermectin Medication Information: https://www.drugs.com/ivermectin.html
- Ivermectin Professional Information: https://www.https://www.drugs.com/pro/ivermectin-tablets.html
- Ivermectin is a specific inhibitor of importin α/β-mediated nuclear import able to inhibit replication of HIV-1 and dengue virus: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3327999/
- The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7129059/
- COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines. National Institutes of Health. Available at https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/. Accessed 18 Jul, 2025.
- Ivermectin for COVID-19 in adults in the community (PRINCIPLE): An open, randomised, controlled, adaptive platform trial of short- and longer-term outcomes https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163445324000641
- WHO therapeutics and COVID-19: Living Guideline published 11/10/23. Accessed 18 July 2025. https://app.magicapp.org/#/guideline/nBkO1E
- Eurpean Medicine Agenency COVID-19 medicines Acessed 18/7/2025 https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/human-regulatory-overview/public-health-threats/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/covid-19-medicines
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Drug information
- Ivermectin Information for Consumers
- Ivermectin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side Effects of Ivermectin (detailed)
- Ivermectin user reviews (54)
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