Goa govt recommends Ivermectin to all above 18

Goa state government on Monday recommended all residents above the age of 18 to take five tablets of the Ivermectin drug.

While talking to the media, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said that the Ivermectin drug will be made available at all health centres in the coastal state.

“We are giving this as prophylaxis treatment, as a preventive. Ivermectin tablets will be given to all patients above 18 years at government health centres…This will be made available,” said Rane.

“Patients will be treated with Ivermectin 12mg for a period of five days. Expert panels from the UK, Italy, Spain and Japan, found a large, statistically significant reduction in mortality, time to recovery and viral clearance in COVID-19 patients treated with Ivermectin,” he added.

The Health Minister’s statement came after he held a meeting with top health officials and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.

Rane said that Goa would be the first state in India to endorse the new COVID-19 treatment protocol.

“However, this does not prevent COVID-19 infection but helps in reducing the severity of the disease and at the same time one should not have a false sense of security and complacency but strictly take all the precautionary measures and follow laid SOPs,” added Rane.