St. Lucian physician suspended for treating COVID-19 with Ivermectin

(CMR) St. Lucian physician Dr. Gilbertha St. Rose has been suspended by The Medical and Dental Council of Saint Lucia after prescribing Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 patients without authorization from the Ministry of Health or the Chief Medical Officer and publicly encouraging its use to treat the virus.

Dr. St. Rose, an Integrated Health Specialist, is alleged to have committed acts of misconduct by performing her duties as a medical practitioner in a negligent and incompetent manner between February 8 and August 30, 2021.

The suspension includes a EC$10,000 fine to the council within 30 days because St. Rose conducted an unapproved and unmonitored clinical trial.

The St. Lucian Times first reported the matter on Tuesday; the day she was suspended. The Medical and Dental Council of St. Lucia has not issued any statement regarding the suspension. She shared with that publication that she challenged the notion that Ivermectin makes people sick.

She declared that miraculous healings have been documented from Ivermectin treatment and the people of St. Lucia should have the benefit of “clinical trials.”

Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug most commonly used to treat livestock. The FDA has not approved the use of ivermectin as a treatment for Covid-19 and the drug's manufacturer, Merck, has released a statement that there are no data demonstrating ivermectin's clinical activity or clinical efficacy for Covid-19 patients, along with a lack of safety data in most of the studies.

Although some early studies into the use of ivermectin against COVID-19 suggested possible benefits, none of the recent high-quality trials where results have been reviewed and assessed have supported these findings. There are genuine concerns of fraudulent data being reported from some of the early trials, and the largest trial that supported ivermectin use has already been withdrawn as a result of data fraud.

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have also pronounced the use of the drug, with CARPHA advising its member states that the drug is only to be used in clinical trials and not for treatment of COVID-19.

“CARPHA does not support the use of ivermectin outside of appropriately designed, well-regulated clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19,” a statement from the agency this week said.