By Vaidehi Mehta, Esq. | Last updated on April 12, 2024

"You are not a horse." Sound familiar? If you remember seeing this message a couple of years ago, you probably caught one of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) social media campaigns about COVID-19. In the middle of the pandemic, the FDA thought it would be effective to make funny posts urging people not to take a drug called ivermectin to treat COVID-19.

But a lot of doctors didn't find it so cute. A couple of doctors had been recommending ivermectin to treat the coronavirus since its onset in 2020. But after the FDA's public health campaign, those doctors faced consequences at work for their use of this drug. They then took the FDA to court, and now, the suit has just settled. Let's look at the case that made the feds get off their high horse.

FDA Says "Neigh" to Ivermectin

In the wake of the pandemic, the FDA had discovered that some people were treating their COVID symptoms using the animal version of a drug called ivermectin. The agency released a consumer update titled "Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19." It stated that certain animal formulations of ivermectin (pour-on, injectable, paste, and "drench") are approved to treat or prevent parasites in animals within the country. But for American humans, ivermectin tablets are approved only at very specific doses, and they're meant to treat things like certain parasitic worms, while there are topical versions for things like head lice and rosacea.