State Pharmacy Board, AMA have informed CVS decision, pharmacist says
by Guy Page
A CVS pharmacist in Central Vermont today told a Vermont resident (me) the pharmacy would no longer fill prescriptions for ivermectin if prescribed for Covid-19.
According to the pharmacist, the American Medical Association and the Vermont Board of Pharmacy both say “it’s not safe to dispense,” the pharmacist said. She said that continuing to dispense Ivermectin for Covid-19 could result in the loss of her license.
However, one member of the Vermont Board of Pharmacy said today she is unaware of any decision being made, or recent discussion of, ivermectin. The Secretary of State’s office, which oversees the board, explained this afternoon:
“There is no ivermectin-specific order from the Board. The situation you describe is a pharmacist appropriately intervening to reject a script that is not clinically indicated for a diagnosed condition. Departments of Health and Boards of Pharmacy across the nation have developed strategies to address the problem of unproven and often dangerous therapies proposed for COVID-19 treatment or prevention.
“Prescribers were asked to not prescribe unproven therapies, and the Director issued an Act 91 directive reminding pharmacists to perform enhanced drug utilization reviews (DURs): determining the safety and therapeutic appropriateness of a prescribed drug for a diagnosed condition. A DUR is standard pharmacist care. When a hazardous or illegitimate script is presented, a pharmacist is expected to use their professional judgment to intervene on behalf of the patient. That can include refusing the prescription.”
The pharmacist referenced the AMA decision. On September 1, the AMA published a statement including the following:
The American Medical Association (AMA), American Pharmacists Association (APhA), and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) strongly oppose the ordering, prescribing, or dispensing of ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19 outside of a clinical trial.
Ivermectin is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for human use to treat infections caused by internal and external parasites. It is not approved to prevent or treat COVID-19. Ivermectin is also available to treat certain veterinary conditions; medications formulated or intended for use in animals should not be used by humans. We are alarmed by reports that outpatient prescribing for and dispensing of ivermectin have increased 24-fold since before the pandemic and increased exponentially over the past few months. As such, we are calling for an immediate end to the prescribing, dispensing, and use of ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 outside of a clinical trial. In addition, we are urging physicians, pharmacists, and other prescribers—trusted health care professionals in their communities—to warn patients against the use of ivermectin outside of FDA-approved indications and guidance, whether intended for use in humans or animals, as well as purchasing ivermectin from online stores. Veterinary forms of this medication are highly concentrated for large animals and pose a significant toxicity risk for humans.
The AMA statement does not mention that researchers won a Nobel Prize in 2015 for establishing ivermectin’s use in treating humans for parasites, or that ivermectin is a CDC-required treatment for human refugees coming to the United States.
According to its website, the Vermont Board of Pharmacy is a seven-member board created by the legislature whose members are appointed by the governor to administer the laws for this profession in the state of Vermont. The board’s mission is public protection. The board does this by: ensuring that applicants are qualified for licensure; setting standards for the profession by proposing statutes and adopting administrative rules; and, with the assistance of Office of Professional Regulation staff, investigating complaints of unprofessional conduct, taking disciplinary action against licensees when necessary to protect the public.
Health Commissioner Mark Levine has consistently argued that ivermectin users should instead be vaccinated. However, yesterday he conceded that no ivermectin-induced illnesses have been reported in Vermont. By contrast, by July, 12 deaths and 68 serious adverse events were ascribed to Covid-19 vaccination on the CDC Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
Wal-Mart in Berlin also said it will not fill Ivermectin for Covid-19. If other pharmacies follow suit, Vermonters who want ivermectin will likely elsewhere for the medication.