https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/88nzn3/the-fda-was-internally-thrilled-over-that-viral-horse-paste-tweet

Internal documents obtained by Motherboard through a Freedom of Information Act request show that the federal Food and Drug Administration was absolutely delighted to do a fire tweet discouraging the use of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19. In internal emails, supervisors with the agency’s public affairs office congratulated the author of the tweet for their “clever (humorous)” approach, suggesting the agency will employ more humor in its desperate, often ineffective efforts to keep the American public from continuing to poison themselves with unproven treatments for the novel coronavirus. 

The use of both veterinary and formulated-for-humans versions of ivermectin has skyrocketed in the United States and around the world despite the fact that the best available evidence to date indicates that it’s not effective for preventing or treating COVID-19. Poison control centers in Florida and Mississippi have reported spikes in calls related to people taking livestock versions of the drug, and two people in New Mexico—a 38-year-old woman and a 79-year-old man—recently died after delaying treatment for COVID and taking ivermectin instead. The run on the veterinary versions of the drug is also creating a shortage for animal care experts who actually need it to deworm animals.