18th July 2021
Sello Motseta
Botswana’s Covid-19 Ivermectin Intervention Group(BCIIG) will this week come up with a firm proposal for the Ministry of Health and Wellness for use of Ivermectin under clinical trials, to treat COVID-19 patients in Botswana which is a experiencing a spike in deaths owing to the disease.
Ivermectin is a Food and Drug Administration(FDA)approved drug with very limited adverse effects like dizziness, pruritis, nausea and/or diarrhea. It is also on the World Health Organization(WHO) essential medicines list for several parasitic diseases.
Dr Mbako Nnepi, Co-ordinator of Botswana’s Covid-19 Ivermectin Intervention Group(BCIIG) said “We will this week submit a proposal for Ivermectin to be registered for therapy against COVID-19. This is based on data available from different parts of the world like the Western world, Africa and India. Zimbabwe and South Africa have already authorised its use.”
He said, “The drug has been used for over 4 decades with over 4 billion prescriptions.”
According to Botswana’s Covid-19 Ivermectin Intervention Group(BCIIG), Ivermectin has since the 28th June 2021 been used on 19,000 humans for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 without any serious side effects.
It is arguing that with the ongoing loss of human life in Botswana, lack of any viable treatment, nations inability to stem the disease, slow paced vaccination programme and limited resources Invermectin should be registered expeditiously to treat victims of COVID-19.
Although it acknowledges the need to obtain drugs from licensed health care providers, they complain that the costs and time required to conduct full clinical trials are prohibitive especially given Botswana’s minuscule population of 2,1million and the devastation caused by Covid-19.
Botswana has experienced a serious spike in cases with 1,274 cases over the last 7 days. According to officials estimates there are about 73,977 confirmed cases of covid-19 with 1,188 fatalities, 4720 recoveries, 1340900 tests for covid-19 and 160,196 vaccinated against the disease.
“In accordance with the Botswana National Drug Policy(BNDP), the Ministry of Health and Wellness also has an obligation to ensure that drugs of acceptable safety, efficacy and quality are available, accessible and affordable to those who need them,” said Grace Muzila, Botswana’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
She said, “The Ministry of Health and Wellness(MoHW) has resolved that BCIIG should come up with a proposal for use of Ivermectin under clinical studies . This is also in line with WHO current recommendations that Ivermectin can be used in humans only under clinical trials.”
Botswana is experiencing delays in arrival of vaccines allegedly due to high global demand for COVID-19 vaccines, which have now outstripped supply. The Ministry of Health and Wellness says Botswana is now likely to get second dose of AstraZeneca in August 2021, meaning some vaccination centres inoculating second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine across the country have started experiencing shortages.
“The shortfall in the AstraZeneca vaccine is about 15 000 doses, resulting in people of the same number likely to get their second doses beyond the initially anticipated 12 weeks,” said Christopher Nyanga, Spokesperson for Botswana’s Ministry of Health and Wellness.
He said, “After considering this challenge and trends in other countries like in Europe and Canada, a decision was taken that all those affected by these developments be offered Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, as second doses, if any of the two become available earlier than the expected AstraZeneca vaccine. As such, all those affected are advised to remain calm since the situation is under control and their immunity against COVID-19 will not in any way be compromised.”
