On Tuesday evening, FPÖ federal party leader Herbert Kickl once again pleaded for the use of the worming agent ivermectin for Covid 19 infections, contrary to all scientific evidence. A study should be done, said Kickl in the “ZiB2” of the ORF – regardless of the clear findings that this agent is not suitable for the treatment of corona disease – and the manufacturer himself clearly advises against it.
In response to the objection from ORF moderator Martin Thür that all virologists and experts do not share Kickl’s opinion and that an effect of ivermectin against Covid-19 could not be proven, the FPÖ boss suggested doing a study in Austria. Such studies have not yet been done because the pharmaceutical industry has no interest in them, he claimed. Because ivermectin is a “very cheap agent” and its use in Covid-19 would run counter to the business interests of the drug manufacturers, according to his thesis.
Kickl does not contest the fact that Kickl’s former party colleagues, including the blue “veteran” Andreas Mölzer, spoke out against the current line of the party leadership. Regarding the statement of the former blue health minister Beate Hartinger-Klein, who described Kickl’s recommendation to ivermectin as “last-class and indisputable” and declared that this did not correspond to any medical evidence, Kickl said: “She is wrong. She is also not a virologist and it is obviously not fully informed either. “
Kickl brushed Thür’s allegation that it has been proven that ivermectin is unsuitable for the treatment of corona diseases. The ORF should invite doctors “every evening” to the ZiB2 (…), “who have also used ivermectin in practice on patients either in their ordination or in hospitals – and all of this has been proven with clinical studies . They would explain to you that it works, “said the blue party chairman.
According to the current state of knowledge, the use of ivermectin in corona diseases is definitely not recommended. The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) had already warned against such an operation in March, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) also advised against it outside of clinical studies.
Ivermectin medicines are not approved for the treatment of Covid-19 in the EU. Ivermectin tablets are approved in humans for the treatment of scabies (itch mite), parasitic worm infestations with strongyloidiasis (dwarf threadworms) and tropical threadworms, and as skin preparations for the treatment of copper acne.
Regarding the corona vaccination, which Kickl repeatedly criticized as ineffective, he said: “It works, but not in a way that it is the game changer that gets us out of the pandemic.”