FALSE: Ivermectin proves to be an effective alternative to the COVID-19 vaccine

At a glance

• Claim: Ivermectin proves to be an effective alternative to the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Ivermectin is not an alternative to the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccines have been proven to prevent the risk of severe infections and hospitalizations; Ivermectin has not. 
• Why we fact-checked this: A Facebook post with this claim has over 1,300 views and the same video on Youtube has over 15,000 views. 

Complete details

A video on Facebook and Youtube has been posted containing the claim that Ivermectin is an effective alternative to the COVID-19 vaccine. The video was posted by a pro-life account that was arguing against the use of the COVID-19 vaccine from those who are pro-life.

This claim is false. 

Ivermectin is not recommended by the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases as both a prophylactic or as a treatment for COVID-19, regardless of severity. The society strongly recommends against the use of Ivermectin for COVID-19 due to the low quality of evidence. 

The United States Food and Drug Administration also echoes the same sentiments against the use of Ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, so too does the National Institute of Health. 

The COVID-19 vaccine has been found to be effective in preventing severe cases of COVID-19 and hospitalization. It’s also been found that those unvaccinated are more likely to die or be hospitalized when compared to vaccinated individuals. 

58,263 people have died due to COVID-19 in the country, as of March 21, 2022. There is no cure for COVID-19, but we do have a safe and effective way of preventing death and hospitalizations from the virus: get vaccinated. – Renzo Arceta/Rappler.com

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