Anti-parasite drug used on Arkansas jail's inmates for COVID [View all]

Inmates at a northwest Arkansas jail have been prescribed ivermectin to combat COVID-19, despite warnings from federal health officials that the antiparasitic drug should not be used to treat the coronavirus

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press
August 25, 2021, 8:24 PM
• 4 min read

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Inmates at a northwest Arkansas jail have been prescribed ivermectin to combat COVID-19, despite warnings from federal health officials that the antiparasitic drug should not be used to treat the coronavirus.

Washington County's sheriff confirmed Tuesday night that the jail's health provider had been prescribing the drug. Sheriff Tim Helder didn't say how many inmates at the 710-bed facility had been given ivermectin and defended the health provider the jail uses that has been prescribing the medication.

“Whatever a doctor prescribes, that is not in my bailiwick," Helder told members of the Washington County quorum court, the county's governing body. Helder did not immediately respond to a call from The Associated Press, and a spokesperson for the sheriff's office referred questions to Karas Correctional Health, the jail's health provider.

It's not clear what information inmates who were prescribed the drug have been given about it, including warnings that it isn't approved to treat COVID-19.

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https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/anti-parasite-drug-arkansas-jails-inmates-covid-79649447