The Polk County Commission decided Tuesday to not vote on sending a letter to the governor asking him to “take action to protect citizens’ right to try” ivermectin, hydroxycloroquine and other unapproved treatments for COVID-19.
The letter, drafted by Commissioner Neil Combee, tells Gov. Ron DeSantis that larger hospitals and pharmacies are refusing to prescribe “safe and effective therapeutics,” although neither drug has been approved to treat COVID-19.
“When a citizen is facing a potentially life-threatening case of COVID-19, he or she should receive the ‘right to try’ potentially life-saving therapeutics,” the letter says, in reference to the 2015 Florida Right to Try Act, which permits terminally ill patients to receive experimental treatments.
After a lengthy discussion and public comments, Combee agreed to make changes to the letter and offer it up at a future meeting. The next scheduled meeting is in two weeks.
During Tuesday's meeting, Combee said it's "asinine" to not consider alternative treatments for a life-threatening disease.
"If you might die from some virus and the only option the hospital offers is to cut a hole in your throat and put you on a mechanical ventilator, you have a right to try inexpensive, widely used drugs regardless of whether your doctor agrees or not," Combee said]
The Food and Drug Administration says ivermectin, known primarily as a livestock dewormer, is approved for human use only to treat infections caused by some parasitic worms and head lice and skin conditions like rosacea.
There have been reports of people self-medicating with ivermectin off the shelf of feed stores and poison control centers receiving a spike in emergency calls from people who have taken it.
Hydroxychloroquine is labeled for the treatment of malaria, discoid and systemic lupus erythematosus, and acute and chronic rheumatoid arthritis. While it has been prescribed by some doctors for COVID, the FDA specifies it has not been approved for treating or preventing the illness.
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