STO. TOMAS CITY, Batangas – “IF it could save lives, why not.”
That in a nutshell was the reaction of Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas following the presentation of Department of Health-Calabarzon Director Dr. Eduardo Janairo as he proposed to health officials of the province to consider using “wonder drug” Ivermectine against Covid-19.
Online presentation
Janairo made the presentation during a recent online meeting with the provincial Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases which Mandanas chairs.
“Narito po kami upang humingi ng pahintulot para sa buong lalawigan ng Batangas na gamitin ng ating mga kababayan dahil may pahintulot naman na po ito sa Presidente (Duterte) at ng health regional office,” Janairo stressed.
Problem is, medical use of Ivermectin still needs proper approval from Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, although President Duterte has allegedly approved in principle its use “if it could save lives.”
Pros and cons
Janairo lengthily discussed the pros and cons of the wonder drug against Covid-19 saying it could also serve as prophylaxis and as a treatment to mild and severe cases.
Prophylaxis refers to the use of a certain drug like Ivermectin as prevention rather than cure.
Experimental use
Nevertheless, the experimental use of Ivermectin could complete and complement of the province’s newly-introduced Integrated Health Care (IHC) or Integrated Medical System.
It’s a program that encourages home-based treatment for Covid patients instead of bringing them over for hospital confinement aside from the fact that availability of hospital beds are dwindling.
“Madami na ang lumapit sa akin ng reklamo na wala na raw silang makuhang hospital bed para sa kanilang relatives na may Covid, kanya po tayo ngayon ay nagsusulong ng home-based treatment and isolation,” Madanas said.
Death toll
Janairo emphasized the administration of Ivermectin as prophylaxis, cure, and prevention drug against Covid-19 could work hand in hand with the province’s home-based IHC program
Janairo said Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) owns at least one fourth of the country’s total death toll at 37,405.
Mandanas’ nod
Gov. Mandanas said he greatly favors the use of the wonder drug but he still has some reservation with regards to its massive use in the province in the absence of DOH and the FDA approval.
He however, hinted that, maybe, the province could dispense it through experimental use.
This was seconded by Dr. Rhodora Reyes of DOH-Calabarzon and Batangas Medical Center during her own presentation saying the funding for Ivermectin cannot be provided yet by the national government as the DOH and FDA are yet to approve its use.
Prescription
Doctors, however, can now freely prescribe its use for patients. At the same time, Ivermectin is also available among prominent drug stores.
But as the saying goes, “If there is a will, there is a way.”
To make it available and accessible to patients amid the sweeping health crisis, Janairo suggested to Gov. Mandanas to consider the administration of the re-purposed Ivermectin drug as research or experimental that can be used only by a target group of people or area for the time being.
Final decision
Mandanas said he favors greatly on the idea of allowing the use of Ivermectin in the province “if it could save lives” but the final decision hinges on the approval of the national IATF-MEID.
“Makakatulong talaga ito sa ating indigent patients kasi this (Ivermectin) is affordable. Kung makakatulong talaga, malalaman ito sa research,” Mandanas said.
After Batangas, Janairo said, the DOH-Calabarzon will next introduce its use in Cavite, Laguna, and so on.
“Inuuna lang natin Batangas dahil nais natin mauna ang probinsya at maipakita sa ibang probinsya ang magandang resulta ng Ivermectin use. Aside from this, the health board is well-organized in Batangas,” he said.
Safe
“Ito’y ligtas, nakakatulong talaga ang re-purposed drugs na ito. Maganda ang naging resulta ang paggamit nito sa Indonesia, at India pero hindi nila isinasama sa report nila na gumamagamit sila ngayon ng Ivermectin.
Initially, the idea is to distribute the Ivermectin drug to medical and non-medical frontliners as prophylaxis of at least one dose per week or depending on the discretion of the research team that will be formed in the next few days.
“We want to do it (use of Ivermectin) now na. But what we will do it as research muna. Research lang and ating inaaproban ngayon.Our advocacy is to make it known, na sa mga lugar na ginagamit ito, ay maganda ang resulta,” Gov. Mandanas said.
At present, the price range of Ivermectin P35 apiece among PH drugstores.
Veterinary drug
The drug was discovered in the late-1970s. The pioneering drug Ivermectin, a dihydro derivative of avermectin—originating solely from a single microorganism isolated at the Kitasato Intitute, Tokyo, Japan from Japanese soil—has had an immeasurably beneficial impact in improving the lives and welfare of billions of people throughout the world.
Originally introduced as a veterinary drug, it kills a wide range of internal and external parasites in commercial livestock and companion animals.
It is now being used free-of-charge as tool in campaigns to eliminate diseases globally.
It has also been used to successfully overcome several other human diseases and new uses for it are continually being found. (IAmigo/OpBats)