Las Vegas feed store warns customers from using ivermectin to treat COVID-19

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - The FDA is warning people “You aren’t a horse.”

Now, a local retailer is telling its customers the same thing. The FDA sent an advisory to retailers to alert people about using an animal drug, ivermectin, to treat COVID-19. Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug intended for horses, cattle and sheep.

V&V Tack and Feed’s manager said they’ve seen a lot of people come into their store to buy ivermectin because they think it will treat COVID-19.

The store hung up a sign next to the product that says, “Horses only. Don’t eat this.”

“There’s a huge increase in the number of calls for ivermectin,” said store manager Shelly Smith. “There’s a huge increase in the sales of ivermectin and you can definitely tell it’s not always a horse owner buying the ivermectin.”

Smith said there’s such a huge demand, not only in Las Vegas but across the country, that the store can’t replace their stock of the product. The manager says it’s not the typical season horses will need to be treated with a dewormer, which is further into the fall and winter.

Smith said she won’t sell ivermectin to people who don’t have a horse.

“I wanna see a picture of you and your horse, I love looking at your horse pictures anyway. I don’t know a horse person on this planet that doesn’t have a ton of pictures of you and your horse,” Smith said. “Don’t eat bleach, don’t eat horse wormer. Don’t put that in your mouth.”

The FDA hasn’t proven ivermectin is safe for humans or effective as a COVID-19 treatment, and that animal products can cause serious health effects, including death.

According to the FDA, poison control centers across the U.S. are seeing a spike in people suffering adverse health effects after taking animal ivermectin.

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