China’s state-run medicare program recently failed to reach an agreement with Pfizer to import more Paxlovid, claiming the COVID-19 treatment drug is too expensive. This is despite the drug being offered to the state at a reduced rate in comparison with that offered to other developed countries. Lack of Paxlovid will leave only Azvudine, an anti-HIV drug the Chinese communist regime rushed through development and re-branded as an anti-COVID drug, as a treatment option.
Ivermectin in India and Peru
When the Delta variant broke out in 2021 across India, many states offered ivermectin population-wide. The efficacy of ivermectin in treating early and mild COVID-19 infections was confirmed in large states such as Uttar Pradesh—home to 241 million residents—where the use of the prophylactic dramatically reduced both the infection rate and the death toll.Ivermectin–The Wonder Drug
Ivermectin was discovered in Japan during the late 70s as a derivative of Avermectin, produced from a single organism isolated at the Kitasato Institute in Tokyo. Since then, ivermectin has played an immeasurable role in improving the lives of billions with its humble beginnings as an anti-parasitic drug.Ivermectin, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and deployed worldwide since 1987, has made major inroads against two devastating tropical diseases—onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. In addition, some topical forms of ivermectin are approved to treat external parasites like head lice and skin conditions such as rosacea.
Ivermectin’s Potential Mechanisms Against COVID
SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that takes over host cells to multiply in the body. To enter the host cells, the virus binds to the ACE-2 receptor on the surface of cells which grants them entry. Ivermectin prevents the bonding process by interfering with the virus’s spike proteins—this is the same mechanism the vaccines use.If the virus slips past the cell membrane, its top priority is to infiltrate the brain of the cell—the DNA-containing nucleus—to start mass-producing itself. SARS-CoV-2 latches itself onto a special class of transport proteins called IMPs that have enough security clearance to enter the nucleus. In the case of a viral infection, ivermectin binds to these transport proteins and halts the interaction.
Ivermectin also inhibits the nuclear transport mechanism mediated by the KPNA-1 protein, which has a similar effect when compared with IMPs. Both proteins can enter the nucleus and ivermectin can effectively stop the virus from getting to the nucleus. In the event that the virus does manage to invade the nucleus—ivermectin also has a backup plan.
Ivermectin Could Reduce Severe Lung Damage in COVID Patients
Once COVID-19 reaches later stages, it may require intensive care for recovery. For example, white lung syndrome (a hallmark symptom of acute respiratory distress syndrome) now occurring in severe COVID infections in China, is a sign that the virus has deeply infected the lungs and may have caused cytokine storms (a severe immune reaction in the body) in patients.Other complications that arise from COVID-19 involving the lungs are conditions such as pulmonary fibrosis and hypoxia. Hypoxia occurs when the virus infects lung tissue to the extent that the alveoli, tiny sacs of air at the end of lung branches responsible for oxygen exchange, become scarred causing a severe loss of oxygen in the body.
A cytokine storm can be triggered through the TLR-4 pathway by the virus. The same pathway also triggers the release of nitric oxide, causing fluid leaks, dilating blood vessels, or even sepsis and fluid buildup in the lungs.
A cytokine storm is related to the viral components that change how the body regulates certain signal molecules like STAT-3 and TLR-4. Too much STAT-3 will lead to the production of more TLR-4 through PAK-1 and is how the virus induces a pathway such that a heavy inflammatory response is initiated in the body.
Ivermectin Can Reduce Bacterial Co-Infections for COVID Patients
Bacterial coinfections are common in respiratory viral infections, and patients with COVID-19 are no exception. Patients with co-infections were more likely to die in intensive care than those without coinfections. Among the group of compounds in the avermectin family, ivermectin stands out for its antibacterial effects.Ivermectin can also activate P2X4 receptors in macrophages, increasing its ability to destroy bacteria and protect against sepsis, which is the most prominent antibacterial effect of ivermectin.
Repurposing drugs, if successful, is the best accelerator for prophylactic development because it can save developers anywhere from three to 12 years as experts can reuse the data from previous clinical trials and other experiments.
A “wonder drug” like ivermectin should be strongly considered as a defense against viruses given its success both in mechanism studies and clinical trials as well as applications in a variety of diseases and infections. The suppression of ivermectin usage during the COVID-19 pandemic by government agencies and Big Pharma is one of the world’s most tragic events in modern medicine.
Particularly sad was when the Chinese regime did not fulfill its social responsibilities when loosening the zero-COVID restrictions by offering prophylactics such as ivermectin to prepare its people for a tsunami of infections—as Peru did with their ivermectin distribution operation. It would have been greatly beneficial to equip the Chinese people with ivermectin to reduce the exorbitant infection numbers and needless deaths of COVID-19.