FDA attorney argues guidance against ivermectin for COVID was recommendation, 'not mandatory'

An attorney for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration argued that the agency's guidance against taking ivermectin for COVID was "not mandatory," merely a recommendation.

"The cited statements were not directives. They were not mandatory. They were recommendations. They said what parties should do," lawyer Isaac Belfer said during a federal court hearing in Texas earlier this month, The Epoch Times reported. "They did not say you may not do it, you must not do it. They did not say it's prohibited or it's unlawful. They also did not say that doctors may not prescribe ivermectin."

The hearing came in a case brought by three doctors who argued that the FDA's statements on ivermectin illegally interfered with their ability to prescribe drugs.

Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug, is approved by the federal government but not in treatment for COVID-19.  

In 2021, the FDA published a web page titled, "Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19." 

One of the plaintiffs, Dr. Paul Marik, said that the FDA's statements against ivermectin eventually forced him to resign from his position as a top doctor at the Eastern Virginia Medical School.