Doctor: Pharmacists Continuing to Refuse Ivermectin Prescriptions, Raising Ethical Concerns

Many pharmacists are still refusing to fill prescriptions issued for ivermectin.

According to a prominent doctor, the continued refusal of pharmacists across the country to fill prescriptions for controversial COVID medications has raised questions about medical autonomy and who ultimately has control over patient care.

Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, a practitioner and founder of the Coalition of Health Freedom, told The Epoch Times that despite statements from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) affirming that right to doctors, many pharmacists nationwide are still refusing to fill prescriptions for ivermectin issued to patients for the treatment of COVID.

“This must come to an end.” “By telling my patients which medications they can and cannot obtain, we effectively have a large group of pharmacists practicing medicine without a license,” Dr. Bowden explained. “They have no accountability for this yet they are allowed to dictate patient care.”

“I see it on a daily basis. “Enough already,” Dr. Bowden added.

Ivermectin has been around for decades, but it became the center of controversy in 2020 when medical opinion became divided about its efficacy as a COVID treatment. Following that, many pharmacists refused to fill the medication’s prescriptions.

By 2023, the issue had reached the courtroom, with a lawyer representing the FDA confirming on August 8 that doctors were free to prescribe ivermectin to treat COVID.

“FDA explicitly recognizes that doctors do have the authority to prescribe ivermectin to treat COVID,” Ashley Cheung Honold, a Department of Justice lawyer representing the FDA, told the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The government lawyer made the statement in response to the FDA’s repeated requests that people refrain from taking ivermectin for COVID. On August 21, 2021, the FDA posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “You are not a horse.” You’re not a calf. Seriously, you guys. “Put a stop to it.”

On August 17, the FDA issued another clarification, this time stating that while it had approved ivermectin for certain uses in humans and animals, no statement had been issued confirming the drug’s safety or effectiveness in treating COVID. However, the agency reiterated that it would be up to individual doctors to decide whether or not to prescribe the medication for COVID treatment.

“Health care professionals generally may choose to prescribe an approved human drug for an unapproved use when they judge that the unapproved use is medically appropriate for an individual patient,” the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

The National Institutes of Health COVID-19 treatment guidelines advise against using ivermectin for COVID treatment, citing a lack of evidence to support its efficacy. Ivermectin has been shown to be effective in other studies.

Dr. Bowden, one of three plaintiffs in the case, had hoped that the FDA’s acknowledgement would have put an end to the pharmacist counter protests. However, another of her patients whom she was treating was refused service earlier this week. Complicating matters, the patient was elderly and couldn’t easily access other options, and the patient’s health began to deteriorate during the time it took to find a pharmacy that would honor the prescription, according to Dr. Bowden.

“It’s hard to believe, but pharmacists are still blocking these potentially life-saving medications,” Dr. Bowden said. “The pharmacist didn’t talk to the patient and won’t know if the patient lives or dies yet had control of his care.”

Dr. Bowden believes that in most cases, individual pharmacists are not to blame and are simply carrying out corporate leadership’s orders. However, she claims to have witnessed instances where pharmacists prevented her patients from receiving their medication due to their own “personal agenda.”

“It’s a travesty. “I would have thought we were past this, but it keeps happening,” Dr. Bowden said.

According to Dr. Bowden, if this newfound power is not checked, it could lead to a slippery slope that diminishes patients’ rights.

“Before COVID, I had never had a pharmacist refuse to fill a prescription.” This is a new phenomenon that must be put an end to. This goes beyond their role, and it’s a dangerous trend,” Dr. Bowden said.

Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) believes that widespread ivermectin denial could have resulted in untold COVID deaths.

“The doctors I’ve been dealing with and talking to for years now, they believe that probably hundreds of thousands of Americans lost their lives because they were denied early treatment and they were denied because the FDA sabotaged, for example, ivermectin,” Mr. Johnson said in an interview with FOX News on Aug.

“We are going down a very dangerous path, but it’s a path that is being laid out and planned by an elite group of people that want to take total control over our lives, and that’s what they’re doing bit by bit,” he said.