Appeal Court ’ s decision means doctors can dispense Ivermectin as treatment and protection against Covid-19
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THE HEALTH | SEPTEMBER , 2023
| Hot Topic |
Court ruling on Ivermectin vindicates doctors
Appeal Court ’ s decision means doctors can dispense Ivermectin as treatment and protection against Covid-19
BY KHIRTINI K KUMARAN
THE COURT of Appeal ’ s recent ruling that doctors can dispense Ivermectin to patients for medical treatment , has been welcomed by various quarters , including social activist Dr Michael Jeyakumar , the Malaysian Alliance for Effective Covid Control ( MAECC ) and the Malaysian Association for the Advancement of Functional and Interdisciplinary Medicine ( MAAFIM ).
The Appeal Court ’ s ruling effectively overturned the High Court ’ s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by President Dr Vijaendreh Subramaniam and Dr Che Amir Farid Che Isahak during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 .
Lawyer Abraham Au said the three appellate court judges , Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil , Datuk Abu Bakar Jais and Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah , were in favour of the two doctors who had filed the suit asking the High Court to answer two questions about the dispensation of Ivermectin to patients :
• Whether , under the Poisons Act 1952 and the Poisons Regulations 1952 , a registered medical practitioner is entitled to dispense Ivermectin as an ingredient to their patient .
• Whether a registered medical practitioner can dispense Ivermectin to their patients for the purpose of the medical treatment of the patient and in compliance with the Act and the regulations . The MAECC , in its statement , said the appellate court ’ s decision vindicated Malaysians who sought to use Ivermectin as self-treatment and protection against Covid-19 at the height of the pandemic . “ The thousands of doctors , health practitioners and consumer groups that advocated the use of Ivermectin against Covid-19 before the availability of the vaccination programme , and who had been labelled as anti-establishment , can now feel vindicated .”
Dr Jeyakumar , who is also Parti Sosialis Malaysia ( PSM ) Chairman said : “ I am happy with the Appeal Court decision . The dosages recommended for Covid-19 prophylaxis have been proven safe .”
He said in Africa similar doses were given to hundreds of thousands of people to prevent River Blindness . Similarly , reports from Uttar Pradesh , India , indicated the benefits of giving Ivermectin as prophylaxis to the general population . “ Therefore , it seemed that even if there was no benefit regarding Covid-19 prevention , there were hardly any side effects , and the costs were low . If there is some efficacy in preventing Covid , then it ’ s
Dr Vijaendreh Subramaniam
Dr Che Amir Farid Che Isahak
Dr Michael Jeyakumar
NOTWITHSTANDING the Appeal Court ’ s recent ruling on Ivermectin use , Parti Sosialis Malaysia ( PSM ) Chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar firmly believes the government has a significant role in overseeing the use of medicines in the country . He suggests the following :
• Regulate the various medicines that can be imported into
a big bonus . So why not ?”
The World Health Organisation ( WHO ), the US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) and the European Medicines Agency ( EMA ) recommended against the use of Ivermectin outside of clinical trials , stating “ there are insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use of lvermectin for the treatment of Covid-19 .”
Subsequently , in line with international advice , the Ministry of Health ( MoH ) approved the use of lvermectin to carry out clinical trials and restricted its use for the treatment of Covid-19 .
“ At that time , I was unhappy that MoH was taking such a strong position against using Ivermectin . For , at that time , no one knew for sure ,” said Dr Jeyakumar .
“ It would have been ok for the MoH to say that they cannot recommend
Regulating the use of medicines
Malaysia . This cannot be left to the private sector or doctors , as some may choose based on commercial gain .
• Government oversight must be based on a properly constituted committee of doctors and pharmacists .
• The government also needs to monitor the quality of the using Ivermectin as a prophylaxis . But to go out and criminalise its use was too authoritarian .”
RIGHTS OF MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS
During the Covid-19 crisis , MAAFIM emerged as a strong advocate for the role of Ivermectin in Covid-19 treatment , said Dr Vijaendran . Doctors worldwide , Malaysia included , who advocated for alternative medicine and treatments such as Ivermectin , feared retaliation , licence suspension and persecution .
According to Dr Vijaendreh , in doing so , doctors were prevented , then vilified for acting with their conscience in offering known effective treatments for Covid-19 .
“ It is also to be noted that the Emergency Use Authorisation given to the very rushed and inadequately researched
medicines being sold in the country to ensure that there aren ’ t any impurities , the stated doses are correct and that the bioavailability of the preparation meets the standards . Otherwise , some unscrupulous parties might make a quick buck by bringing in cheap but low-quality medicines .