Ivermectin: Still on a Losing Streak as COVID-19 Treatment

There were no differences in relief from mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms for patients on ivermectin versus placebo, according to the ongoing ACTIV-6 trial.

Among >1,000 vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, the median time to recovery was 12 days for those in the ivermectin group and 13 days in the placebo group, reported Matthew McCarthy, MD, of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, at IDWeek.

As a result, the hazard ratio for improvement in time to recovery was 1.07 (95% credible interval 0.96-1.17, posterior P=0.91), McCarthy and colleagues stated in JAMA, where the results were simultaneously published.

He noted that the current trial was conducted during Delta and Omicron variant surges in the country (June 23, 2021 through Feb. 4, 2022).

McCarthy said during the presentation that treatment with two other repurposed agents — the antidepressant fluvoxamine (Luvox) and the inhaled steroid fluticasone — did not offer significantly better outcomes than placebo. “We observed no significant differences in relief of mild-to-moderate symptoms between participants taking ivermectin, fluticasone, or fluvoxamine and participants taking placebo. There was no difference observed in the number of hospitalizations or deaths between patients taking ivermectin, fluticasone, or fluvoxamine and participants taking placebo. There were no safety concerns identified in any arm,” he stated.

“These results are consistent with what we have seen in other trials with these agents,” said IDWeek session co-moderator Adarsh Bhimraj, MD, of Houston Methodist.