City-wide use of Ivermectin lowered COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Itajaí, Brazil

This article highlights the results of the preprint research showing the effectiveness of Ivermectin against COVID-19.[1]

Itajaí, a city in the Southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, initiated a population-wide government program for COVID-19 prophylaxis from July 2020 to December 2020.

Population studied

A total of 133,051 of these people (60.3% of the population) received Ivermectin before being infected by COVID-19. The people freely chose to take Ivermectin or not.

87,466 people (39.7 %) did not receive or did not want to receive the Ivermectin during the program, including its use for prophylactic, outpatient, inpatient therapeutical purposes, or after having COVID-19.

Ivermectin Dose

Volunteers took Ivermectin for two days every 15 days at a dose of 0.2mg/kg/day. i.e., giving one 6 mg tablet for every 30kg.

Results

7% reduction in COVID-19 infection rate with the use of Ivermectin

COVID-19 infection occurred in:

- 4,311 (3.2%) treated subjects
- 3,034 (3.5%) non-treated subjects

42% Reduction in hospitalization rate with ivermectin use

Of the 4,311 ivermectin users, there were 105 hospitalizations (2.43% hospitalization rate)
Among the 3,034 ivermectin non-users, there were 127 hospitalizations (4.18% hospitalization rate)

48% reduction in mortality rate with ivermectin use

A total of 62 deaths (1.4% mortality rate) occurred among users
79 deaths (2.6% mortality rate) among non-users

Reduction of the COVID-19 Death rate among groups with ivermectin use

Overall 45%
<30 years old – 68%
30-50 years old – 85%
>50 years old – 59%
Females – 50%
Males – 40%
With Type 2 diabetes – 71%, without T2D 42%
With Hypertension – 67%, Without Hypertension 39%
With cardiovascular disease 45%, without CVD, 44%

Greater reduction of COVID-19 death risk with Ivermectin in those with comorbidities:

Type 2 diabetes T2D
- 71% reduction among subjects with T2D
- 42% reduction among subjects without T2D
Hypertension
- 67% reduction in the COVID-19 death rate among subjects with hypertension
- 39% reduction among subjects without Hypertension
Asthma
- 70% reduction in the COVID-19 death rate among subjects with asthma
- 45% reduction among subjects without asthma
History of Myocardial Infarction
- 86% reduction among subjects with a history of MI
- 44% reduction among subjects without a history of MI

Overall, non-ivermectin users were two times more likely to die from COVID-19 than subjects using Ivermectin regularly. Ivermectin users were 7% less likely to be infected with SARS-CoV-2.

City-level results

Covid-19 hospitalization

Before ivermectin – 6.8%
With ivermectin – 1.8% – (73% reduction)

Covid-19 mortality rate

Before ivermectin 3.4%
With ivermectin – 1.4% – (59% reduction)

Anti-covid-19 Effects of ivermectin

Ivermectin has antiviral properties. [2][3][4][5]
Ivermectin prevents the lack of oxygen in the tissues and can suppress mucus secretion.[7]
It prevents a hyperimmune response typically seen in severe COVID-19 by decreasing the recruitment of immune cells and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in the lungs.[6][7]
Ivermectin has anticoagulant action and prevents blood clot formation assuring oxygen delivery to all organs.[8]

Recommendation by the authors

Due to the well-established, long-term safety profile of ivermectin, with rare adverse effects, the absence of proven therapeutic options to prevent death caused by COVID-19, and lack of effectiveness of vaccines in real-life analyses to date, we recommend that ivermectin be considered as a preventive strategy, in particular for those at higher risk of complications from COVID-19, and professionals above 30 y/o highly exposed to the virus, including healthcare workers, airport staff, salespeople, taxi and application car drivers and other professionals that deal directly with a large number of costumers and clients.

Take away message

The study by Kerr et al. is the most extensive research showing the effectiveness of Ivermectin against COVID-19 prevention, hospitalization, and mortality.

In times of epidemics and the risk of antibody-dependent enhancement from new variants, a robust immune system and Ivermectin should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind.

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References:

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