Update (Tuesday, April 7 4:30PM CT): Responding to our request for comment, a Tractor Supply representative told Infowars the company “temporarily” pulled an injectable form of Ivermectin “out of an abundance of caution.” Read their response below:
Thank you for reaching out. We appreciate the opportunity to respond about our decision to temporarily remove certain forms of Ivermectin from our product offering. There are two general types of Ivermectin. One is suitable for humans, and one is only suitable for animals. Tractor Supply sells the type only suitable for animals. While recent news reports indicate that human suitable Ivermectin may have an antiviral impact that has not been scientifically proven, we have removed, out of an abundance of caution, the injectable form given the potential risk for improper and potentially harmful, off-label use.
We are adding all other for animal use only products (pours, topical creams and salves, etc.) containing the anti-parasite drug Ivermectin back to our product mix for sale in our stores. We apologize for any inconvenience. We appreciate our customers’ patience as we all work through the challenges related to COVID-19. Please stay safe and healthy.
Original story continues below…
Stores across the US have pulled deworming medication Ivermectin off shelves, days after studies showed it can kill the novel coronavirus.
Over the weekend, customers of the retail chain Tractor Supply sounded the alarm on social media alerting fellow members of the agricultural community that the popular dewormer appeared to no longer be available.
Writing at the Sean Hannity blog, a person with family ties to Tractor Supply managers confirmed stores had been ordered to pull Ivermectin, adding that if any products were sold they’d be fired.
Tractor Supply’s decision to pull Ivermectin came as a study recently published in the journal Antiviral Research found the dewormer could inhibit the growth of SARS-CoV-2, otherwise known as COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus.
In the study, entitled, “The FDA-approved Drug Ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro,” researchers in Australia say they showed the anti-parasitic drug “could impede the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a laboratory setting in under 48 hours,” according to TechTimes.com.
“The test conducted by the Australian researchers showed that even a single dose of the anti-parasitic drug was enough to significantly reduce viral RNA during the first 28 hours, then wiping out 99.8% by 48 hours,” reports Tech Times.
“On the third day, coronavirus was eliminated entirely.”
After the positive results, researchers reasoned that “Ivermectin therefore warrants further investigation for possible benefits in humans.”
The researchers at Monash University who conducted the study made it a point to note at their website that “Ivermectin cannot be used in humans for COVID-19 until further testing and clinical trials have been completed to establish the effectiveness of the drug at levels safe for human dosing.”
Despite human trials still being needed, researcher Dr. Leon Caly said he was hopeful Ivermectin could soon be used to treat COVID-19: “As the virologist who was part of the team who were first to isolate and share SARS-COV2 outside of China in January 2020, I am excited about the prospect of Ivermectin being used as a potential drug against COVID-19,” Dr. Caly said.
The study also notes Ivermectin has been effective in treating other viruses, such as Simian virus (SV40), Dengue virus (DENV), West Nile Virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), Influenza and Pseudorabies virus (PRV).
The study evidently sparked a run on the medication at local Tractor Supply stores, with irritated shoppers who merely wanted the product to treat their livestock, claiming people were trying to ingest the deworming drug to treat coronavirus, now having to find new places to purchase it.
As the person at the Sean Hannity blog questioned, “Why would [Tractor Supply] freak out and pull it?” and why did the CDC reportedly order them to pull it?
Tractor Supply did not respond to a request for comment as of writing.
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