CAPE CORAL — Many lawsuits around the country are now pressuring hospitals to offer Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, even though it hasn’t been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for that use.
We’re hearing from a woman in Cape Coral trying to get her mother treated with the drug as well.
Kathy Nobrega’s mother Judy has been at Cape Coral Hospital since November 6th fighting COVID-19, and just this week, she was put on a ventilator to help her breathe. Nobrega said she’s been asking for Ivermectin to be used as a treatment ever since her mother was hospitalized, and we’ve learned she’s part of a growing movement of people doing the same thing all across the country.
Nobrega said she initially thought her mother had a sinus infection, but quickly saw the symptoms get much worse.
“She got low blood-oxygen. There’s nothing you can do. You need oxygen at your home, which we did not have, so we reluctantly had to send her to the hospital," said Nobrega.
Her mother Judy went to Cape Coral Hospital where she was diagnosed with COVID-19, and as the days went on, Nobrega said her mother continued to get worse.
So she started asking doctors to try a different medication: Ivermectin.
“If this drug can even possibly help her it should be given to her," said Nobrega.
Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug given to both humans and animals. Some doctors around the country have endorsed its use to treat COVID-19, including Dr. Paul Marik, who was in court Thursday in Virginia fighting for the right to prescribe it to his patients.
“I think there are a lot of people who support me, and they realize what the hospital is doing is wrong," said Marik outside the courthouse in Norfolk, VA Thursday.
But despite Nobrega's pleas, she said her mother's doctor would not use the drug.
“The family matters. My mother has a right to try this medicine. I’ve offered to sign a waiver of release as it relates to giving my mother this medication," said Nobrega.
We reached out to Lee Health, and in a statement the hospital system said "While Lee Health does not endorse the use of Ivermectin for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19, physicians use their own clinical judgment when making treatment decisions and we do not restrict physicians from prescribing Ivermectin.”
But the hospital system also added that the drug is currently not approved for use by the FDA, the CDC, the NIH, or the Infectious Disease Society of America for the treatment of COVID-19.
Right now, there are currently 81 studies recognized by the U.S. Government that have been completed or are underway to study the drug, but Nobrega said her mother doesn’t have time to wait for a study, and she wants the hospital to give Ivermectin a try.
“If it doesn’t help her, it doesn’t help her, but then I can rest easy at night," said Nobrega.
Nobrega said she has reached out to an attorney to try to get an emergency order from the court to force the hospital to give her mother Ivermectin as a treatment. It’s something many other families around Florida and the country are trying to do as well.
