Alberta feed stores say they’re receiving a deluge of callers asking to buy ivermectin due to misinformation that suggests the livestock dewormer can be used to treat COVID-19 in humans.
Lance Olson, manager of Lone Star Tack & Feed Inc., located just outside of Calgary, said false claims circulating about the animal medication have brought the wrong kind of attention to his business.
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“It’s obviously not intended for human use in any way, shape or form. It’s meant to get rid of worms in horses’ guts … so, these people see that ivermectin liquid, they search it, our website comes up and they give us a call thinking that we can just sell it to them,” Olson said.
“If you don’t know what it is, you probably don’t have animals that you’re going to use this on … given the circumstances surrounding this stuff, it makes it very uncomfortable when people phone … so we’ve taken it off our shelves.”
WATCH | Horse medication ineffective against COVID-19, says specialist:
Horse medication ineffective against COVID-19, says specialist
3 hours ago
Epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos says getting vaccinated is a safer and better way to protect against the coronavirus. (Benoit Tessier/Reuters) 1:10
Different forms of ivermectin are used to treat parasites, such as intestinal worms or lice, in both animals and humans.
The form of the drug used on humans is actually on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines because it is safe, inexpensive and effective — and has proven to be life-saving for treating some illnesses caused by parasites.
But, for multiple reasons, the livestock form of the drug should never be used on humans. One reason being that it is dosed for much larger organisms. Also, parasites are not the same as viruses. COVID-19 is caused by a virus.
Touted as possible cure
The largest study in favour of ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment was retracted after concerns about data fabrication, plagiarism and ethical breaches.
Medical journal The Lancet has called for more study on ivermectin’s efficacy to reduce viral load or improve recovery, but said there is no drug that can replace preventative public health policies and large-scale testing for COVID.
No clinical studies have proven yet whether ivermectin can slow or stop the novel coronavirus from growing in human cells — but that hasn’t stopped right-wing media personalities and politicians from touting it as a possible treatment or cure for COVID-19.
These flyers promoting misinformation that claims ivermectin is a treatment for COVID-19 were passed out in Banff, Alta., this week. Feed store owners in southern Alberta say they have received many calls from shoppers attempting to buy livestock dewormer for human consumption. (Andrew Thullier)
In May, Calgary mayoral candidate Kevin J. Johnston — a leader in the COVID-19 denial movement who was recently described by a judge as “dangerous and out of control” when he pleaded guilty to criminal charges — suggested that people visit farm supply stores to buy livestock ivermectin.
Derek Sloan, a controversial Ontario MP who was booted from the Conservative caucus and who is now running in the riding of Banff-Airdrie as an Independent for the upcoming federal election, has described ivermectin as a promising medicine during campaign stops and during debate in the House of Commons.
Former Alberta politician and talk radio host Danielle Smith, who previously falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine cures COVID-19 (it doesn’t), suggested in a recent newsletter that information about ivermectin is being suppressed by Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
AHS says its scientific advisory group has conducted a review to explore using ivermectin; the drug is not approved to treat COVID-19 in the province.
The group advises against taking ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment outside of clinical trials.
CBC News spoke with staff at two other feed stores in the Calgary area who confirmed they have been receiving multiple calls about ivermectin each week for months. CBC has agreed not to name the stores out of concern it could impact their business.
One store said at its peak it was receiving requests for one to two online orders per day from out of province, many to downtown Vancouver.
Don’t put things that aren’t tested on humans into yourself. It’s not worth it.– Lance Olson, manager of a Calgary-area feed supply store
Olson said in recent months his feed store’s website has received thousands of searches for ivermectin, nearly seven times as many searches as for the company’s name.
In Alberta, a premises identification number is required for livestock owners to buy animal medications such as ivermectin. But Olson, and another store’s employee, said shoppers still attempt to circumvent that rule.
“Don’t put it in your body,” Olson said. “Don’t put things that aren’t tested on humans into yourself. It’s not worth it. And obviously, the studies are not there yet. So just leave it alone.”
In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control warned the public after increased calls to poison centres with reports of severe illness caused by the medicine. In Georgia, a police officer who took ivermectin for livestock instead of getting vaccinated died of COVID-19, according to a report from Insider.
Feed stores aren’t the only place people are trying to acquire the veterinary medicine.
Dozens of social media posts appear to show Albertans attempting to or successfully acquiring ivermectin from online stores such as Amazon. CBC News has reached out to Amazon Canada to ask if it intends to continue to offer the product and if it will apply a warning label to those listings.
If taken improperly, ivermectin can cause vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, allergic reactions, seizures or even death, according to the U.S. FDA.
Surgeon says patients requesting drug, too
Dr. Michael Chatenay, a general surgeon at Grey Nuns hospital in Edmonton, said last week he treated a COVID-positive patient who asked for ivermectin.
“I was, to be honest, shocked but not surprised because the conspiracy theory websites and social media have been abuzz with this crazy theory,” Chatenay said. “We just tell them that there’s no proven benefit.”
Chatenay said shortly after, another patient made the same request of one of his colleagues.
“It’s worrying,” he said. “For people that are already scared, or are worried about getting vaccinated, they’re looking for and grasping on to these treatments that could potentially be harmful.”
ICYMI: These are the FACTS about Ivermectin:<br>* it’s a drug used to treat/prevent parasites in animals<br>* it’s not approved in <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sask?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Sask</a> for treating or preventing COVID-19 in humans<br>* it’s not an anti-viral (anti-virals treat viruses. COVID-19 is a virus.)<br>* large doses can cause harm <a href=”https://t.co/ovn9yjU7e5″>pic.twitter.com/ovn9yjU7e5</a>
Chatenay said the greatest preventative measure for COVID-19 continues to be vaccination.
Alberta is experiencing a surging fourth wave with nearly 10,000 active cases and a positivity rate over 10 per cent, but just 59 per cent of the province’s total population is fully vaccinated.
“I always try to emphasize that the safest and most well-studied method of preventing COVID infection is vaccination … not only does it help prevent infection, but it helps to reduce your chance of getting severely ill, being hospitalized, being sent to ICU or dying from COVID.”
Nova Scotia RCMP say their investigation into two suspicious deaths earlier this month has concluded that one man died by homicide and the other by suicide.
The bodies of two men, aged 40 and 73, were found in a home in Windsor, N.S., on Sept. 3.
Police say the province’s medical examiner determined the 40-year-old man was killed and the 73-year-old man killed himself.
They say the two men were members of the same family.
No arrests or charges are anticipated, and the names of the deceased will not be released.
RCMP say they will not be releasing any further details out of respect for the family.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
For the first time in their history, members of the Cree community of Nemaska received a visit from a sitting Quebec premier on Sunday and were able to share first-hand the story of how they were displaced by a hydroelectric project in the 1970s.
François Legault was greeted in Nemaska by men and women who arrived by canoe to re-enact the founding of their new village in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, in northern Quebec, 47 years ago. The community was forced in the early 1970s to move from its original location because members were told it would be flooded as part of the Nottaway-Broadback-Rupert hydro project.
The reservoir was ultimately constructed elsewhere, but by then the members of the village had already left for other places, abandoning their homes and many of their belongings in the process.
George Wapachee, co-author of the book “Going Home,” said community members were “relocated for nothing.”
“We didn’t know what the rights were, or who to turn to,” he said in an interview. “That turned us into refugees and we were forced to abandon the life we knew.”
Nemaska’s story illustrates the challenges Legault’s government faces as it looks to build new dams to meet the province’s power needs, which are anticipated to double by 2050. Legault has promised that any new projects will be developed in partnership with Indigenous people and have “social acceptability,” but experts say that’s easier said than done.
François Bouffard, an associate professor of electrical engineering at McGill University, said the earlier era of hydro projects were developed without any consideration for the Indigenous inhabitants living nearby.
“We live in a much different world now,” he said. “Any kind of hydro development, no matter where in Quebec, will require true consent and partnership from Indigenous communities.” Those groups likely want to be treated as stakeholders, he added.
Securing wider social acceptability for projects that significantly change the landscape — as hydro dams often do — is also “a big ask,” he said. The government, Bouchard added, will likely focus on boosting capacity in its existing dams, or building installations that run off river flow and don’t require flooding large swaths of land to create reservoirs.
Louis Beaumier, executive director of the Trottier Energy Institute at Polytechnique Montreal, said Legault’s visit to Nemaska represents a desire for reconciliation with Indigenous people who were traumatized by the way earlier projects were carried about.
Any new projects will need the consent of local First Nations, Beaumier said, adding that its easier to get their blessing for wind power projects compared to dams, because they’re less destructive to the environment and easier around which to structure a partnership agreement.
Beaumier added that he believes it will be nearly impossible to get the public — Indigenous or not — to agree to “the destruction of a river” for a new dam, noting that in recent decades people have come to recognize rivers as the “unique, irreplaceable riches” that they are.
Legault’s visit to northern Quebec came on Sept. 15, when the community gathers every year to remember the founding of the “New Nemaska,” on the shores of Lake Champion in the heart of the boreal forest, some 1,500 kilometres from Montreal. Nemaska Chief Clarence Jolly said the community invited Legault to a traditional feast on Sunday, and planned to present him with Wapachee’s book and tell him their stories.
The book, published in 2022 along with Susan Marshall, is filled with stories of Nemaska community members. Leaving behind sewing machines and hunting dogs, they were initially sent to two different villages, Wapachee said.
In their new homes, several of them were forced to live in “deplorable conditions,” and some were physically and verbally abused, he said. The new village of Nemaska was only built a few years later, in 1977.
“At this time, families were losing their children to prison-schools,” he said, in reference to the residential school system. “Imagine the burden of losing your community as well.”
Thomas Jolly, a former chief, said he was 15 years old when he was forced to leave his village with all his belongings in a single bag.
Meeting Legault was important “because have to recognize what happened and we have to talk about the repercussions that the relocation had on people,” he said, adding that those effects are still felt today.
Earlier Sunday, Legault was in the Cree community of Eastmain, where he participated in the official renaming of a hydro complex in honour of former premier Bernard Landry. At the event, Legault said he would follow the example of his late predecessor, who oversaw the signing of the historic “Paix des Braves” agreement between the Quebec government and the Cree in 2002.
He said there is “significant potential” in Eeyou Istchee James Bay, both in increasing the capacity of its large dams and in developing wind power projects.
“Obviously, we will do that with the Cree,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
NEMASKA – For the first time in their history, members of the Cree community of Nemaska received a visit from a sitting Quebec premier on Sunday and were able to share first-hand the story of how they were displaced by a hydroelectric project in the 1970s.
François Legault was greeted in Nemaska by men and women who arrived by canoe to re-enact the founding of their new village in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, in northern Quebec, 47 years ago. The community was forced in the early 1970s to move from their original location because they were told it would be flooded as part of the Nottaway-Broadback-Rupert hydro project.
The reservoir was ultimately constructed elsewhere, but by then the members of the village had already left for other places, abandoning their homes and many of their belongings in the process.
George Wapachee, co-author of the book “Going Home,” said community members were “relocated for nothing.”
“We didn’t know what the rights were, or who to turn to,” he said in an interview. “That turned us into refugees and we were forced to abandon the life we knew.”
The book, published in 2022 by Wapachee and Susan Marshall, is filled with stories of Cree community members. Leaving behind sewing machines and hunting dogs, they were initially sent to two different villages, 100 and 300 kilometres away, Wapachee said.
In their new homes, several of them were forced to live in “deplorable conditions,” and some were physically and verbally abused, he said. The new village of Nemaska was only built a few years later, in 1977.
“At this time, families were losing their children to prison-schools,” he said, in reference to the residential school system. “Imagine the burden of losing your community as well.”
Legault’s visit came on Sept. 15, when the community gathers every year to remember the founding of the “New Nemaska,” on the shores of Lake Champion in the heart of the boreal forest, some 1,500 kilometres from Montreal. Nemaska Chief Clarence Jolly said the community invited Legault to a traditional feast on Sunday, and planned to present him with Wapachee’s book and tell him their stories.
Thomas Jolly, a former chief, said he was 15 years old when he was forced to leave his village with all his belongings in a single bag.
Meeting Legault was important “because have to recognize what happened and we have to talk about the repercussions that the relocation had on people,” he said, adding that those effects are still felt today.
Earlier Sunday, Legault had been in the Cree community of Eastmain, where he participated in the official renaming of a hydro dam in honour of former premier Bernard Landry.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
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