Did COVID-19 cases in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) drop in 71 out of 75 districts 24 hours after implementing ivermectin protocol? No, that's not true. While coronavirus cases plummeted in UP after peaking in late April 2021, it didn't happen in a day's time and appeared to have nothing to do with the anti-parasitic medicine. It came as UP and Indian health officials implemented a "Test-Track-Treat" protocol that included a national vaccination program.
The claim appeared in an article published on the Gateway Pundit website (archived here) on October 30, 2021, titled "UPDATE: 71 out of 75 Districts in Uttar Pradesh, India - Its Most Populated State - Reported No Covid-19 Cases in 24 Hours After Implementing Ivermectin Protocol". It opened:
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that COVID cases plummeted in India thanks to new rules that promote Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to its massive population.
The 33 districts in Uttar Pradesh, India have now become free from COVID-19 government announced last month. The recovery rate has increased up to 98.7% proving the effectiveness of IVERMECTIN as part of the 'Uttar Pradesh Covid Control Model.' Of course, the media won't mention that Ivermectin is being used for the treatment of COVID-19.
This is what the article looked like on the Gateway Pundit website on November 2, 2021:
(Source: Gateway Pundit website screenshot taken on Tue Nov 02 16:10:13 UTC 2021)
There's no evidence on India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website that India was in October of 2021 treating coronavirus patients with ivermectin, which was dropped from national guidance five months before the Gateway Pundit report. On the website of the state Department of Medical Health & Family Welfare in Uttar Pradesh, there is similarly no evidence ivermectin is in use by that agency, either.
Ivermectin was briefly included in COVID treatment kits provided by the Uttar Pradesh state government. A May 17, 2021, document on the Indian Council of Medical Research website included ivermectin in its "Clinical Guidance for Management of Adult COVID-19 Patients." It was listed under possible therapies "based on low certainty of evidence."
Shamila Sharma with the World Health Organization (WHO) said this in an October 4, 2021, email to Lead Stories:
Ivermectin was then part of the national 'Clinical Guidance for Management of Adult COVID-19 Patients' by the Indian Council of Medical Research-led COVID-19 National Task Force, and was included by some states in their medicine kits. Ivermectin has since then been removed from India's national clinical guidance for COVID-19 treatment.
India's directorate general of health services dropped the drug on June 7, 2021.
Since April 2021, the Ministry of Health has been using its "Test-Track-Treat" protocol, which includes COVID testing, contact tracing, isolation, treatment and vaccination. There is no mention of ivemectin as part of its "Guidelines for Effective Control of COVID-19."
(Source: MyGov website screenshot taken on Tue Nov 02 16:41:21 UTC 2021)
India's MyGov website says the government is committed to giving a free vaccine to every citizen at government hospitals.
By November 2, 2021, more than 1 billion vaccinations had been administered in India, according to India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Some 332 million people are fully vaccinated or about 24% of the population.
(Source: Google website screenshot taken on Tue Nov 02 17:19:47 UTC 2021)
Lead Stories could find no endorsement of ivermectin as a treatment for the virus on the Indian health ministry's website. The World Health Organization on March 31, 2021, advised that ivermectin NOT be used to treat COVID-19. The recommendation is part of the WHO's guidelines on COVID-19 treatments. The advisory says:
The current evidence on the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 patients is inconclusive. Until more data is available, WHO recommends that the drug only be used within clinical trials.
This recommendation, which applies to patients with COVID-19 of any disease severity, is now part of WHO's guidelines on COVID-19 treatments.
COVID cases in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have fallen to minuscule levels since their peak of nearly 38,000 new cases on April 24, 2021. Only three new COVID cases were reported on November 1, 2021, according to the MyGov website.
(Source: Google website screenshot taken on Tue Nov 02 17:46:32 UTC 2021)
