EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Texas Tech University Health Science Center (TTUHSC) is the newest site for a nationwide study testing some FDA-approved medications in COVID-19 treatment.
Dr. Ed Michelson, chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at TTUHSC El Paso, explains the Study’s goal is to test out existing medication that has been used for other purposes and determine how it can prevent hospitalizations and help with COVID-19 symptoms.
One of the drugs being tested is also Ivermectin.
This drug is generally used for worm and parasite treatment, but it sparked a controversy in 2021 when some used the version meant for animals causing them to overdose.
He explained that the one meant for humans is in much lower doses.
“It looks like Ivermectin is helpful to fight the virus in the petri dish; what we want to know is, in U.S. citizens’, in real life, does taking Ivermectin to shorten the disease, and does it help people stay out of the hospital,” explained Dr. Michelson referring to some other international studies done on this drug.
Other drugs used in the trial are Fluvoxamine, primarily used in psychiatric care, and Fluticasone – an inhaled steroid.
You are eligible to participate in the Study if you are sick with COVID-19 with symptoms lasting for about a week and are over 30 years old.
You can sign up on the official website of the ACTIV-6 Study conducted nationwide with the support of the National Institutes of Health.
“They can sign up from home, review, and complete the consent form. They will be sent the medication to their house, and then each day, they report by text or email to let us know how their symptoms are,” Dr. Michelson said about the process.
You will also be able to choose which medicine trials you want to be a part of and go through an online screening to see if it interferes with any medication you are already taking.
Dr. Michelson pointed out that some participants have not completed the trial all the way through.
“We hope that enough people will complete the process, including several weeks of follow-up so that we can get really good data,” he said.
Participants will also be compensated with a 100$ Amazon gift card.
