An elderly Singaporean woman has been hospitalised after she took Ivermectin to protect herself from COVID-19.

According to The New Paper, Wong Lee Tak, 65, came down with a 39.3 degrees Celcius fever and joint inflammation last Friday, on the second day of taking 3mg of the drug meant to treat parasite infestations.

Wong's daughter Vanessa Koh told the tabloid daily that her mother vomited her dinner out 'violently' before being rushed to the hospital.

Koh said it took the family months of persuasion to convince Wong, who has a history of diabetes and high blood pressure, to get jabbed, as the latter had been convinced by her friends from church to not get vaccinated with the mRNA vaccines as it was "against God's will."

The family eventually managed to convince Wong to get her first shot of China's Sinopharm vaccine, and they eventually thought that the vomiting episode was a side effect of the vaccine.

Ivermercin, which is used to treat parasite infestations in animals, garnered attention as a possible treatment for COVID-19 late last year.

The World Health Organisation, however, has warned that there were no grounds for such claims and stressed that the drug should only be used in clinical trials.

In Malaysia, the study of the efficacy of the drug in preventing severe COVID-19 is ongoing.

Side effects from the medicine can include skin rash which might necessitate hospitalisation, nausea, vomiting, stomach distress and diarrhea, swelling, sudden low blood pressure and liver damage, as well as seizures and disorientation.


Source: The New Paper
Photo source: Astro Awani