The number of prescriptions for ivermectin, a drug typically used to treat parasitic worms that has repeatedly failed in clinical trials to treat COVID-19, has jumped to more than 88,000 per week in mid-August from a pre-pandemic baseline average of 3,600 per week.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning in response to multiple reports of patients treated or hospitalized after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for livestock.
Today on Wellness Wednesday, we look at what’s driving the demand for the drug and the associated risks. Then we look at the concern kids could be returning to e-cigarette use with a new school year and why overweight adults should be screened for diabetes at 35-year-old
Guests:
- Laurie Rubiner, executive vice president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
- Dr. Tannaz Moin, associate professor of medicine in the Divisions of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine
- Dr. John Swartzberg, chair of the editorial board, UC Berkeley School of Public Health Wellness Letter
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