Even at low dosage, ivermectin proves effective
A large city-wide study in Brazil with nearly 160,000 participants found that use of ivermectin, even at a relatively low dosage level, is associated with massive reductions in infections and deaths.
The study was conducted by a group of Brazilian and American doctors and scientists, including Pierre Kory, one of the leading advocates for the use of ivermectin in the world.
The entire population of the Brazilian city of Itajaí was invited to participate in the study. In the end, 159,561 people were included in the analysis.
“In the absence of contraindications, ivermectin was offered as an optional treatment to be taken for two consecutive days every 15 days at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg/day,” the study report says.
The study found that of the roughly 114,000 ivermectin users, 3.7% became infected with COVID. Of the approximately 46,000 people who in the study who were not using ivermectin, 6.6% became infected with COVID. This translates into a 44% reduction in COVID-19 infection rate.
Using propensity score matching, a technique that aims to reduce bias, two groups of people, each containing 3,034 subjects, all infected with COVID-19, were compared. In the ivermectin group, 25 people died, while in the non-ivermectin group, 79 people died. The study noted, “The regular use of ivermectin led to a 68% reduction in COVID-19 mortality … When adjusted for residual variables, reduction in mortality rate was 70%.” In addition, 44 of the ivermectin group were hospitalized, versus 99 in the non-ivermectin group. This is a 56% reduction, and the study notes that “After adjustment for residual variables, reduction in hospitalization rate was 67%.”
It is notable that the amount of ivermectin used in this study, only 0.2 mg per kg of body weight, for two consecutive days every 15 days, is similar to a “prevention protocol” but is much lower than the “early treatment” dose currently being recommended by the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, the leading medical group advocating for ivermectin. The current early treatment dose recommended by the FLCCC is 0.4-0.6 mg per kilogram of body weight.