Roundtable – Ivermectin offers glimmer of hope

Proponents of antiparasitic drug Ivermectin, which has been touted as a possible treatment for Covid-19, have been making a lot of noise about it again recently despite a lack of clinical trials on its use and effectiveness to treat the coronavirus. AfriForum has brought an urgent court application against the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize over the use of ivermectin for Covid-19 patients. It says SAHPRA has failed to approve applications by doctors which were brought in terms of Section 21 of the Medicines and Related Substances Act. Michael Avery speaks to Dr Boitumelo Semete Makokotlela, CEO of The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra); Dr Naseeba Kathrada, General Practitioner; Daniel Eloff, attorney at Hurter Spies, one of the attorneys working on the application brought by Dr Coetzee, two COVID-19 patients and AfriForum to declare that Ivermectin be allowed for use of COVID-19 treatment; and Shabnam Palesa Mohamed, activist and journalist and founder of civil society group Sahari.