A judge ruled Monday that an Ohio hospital cannot be forced to give a patient ivermectin for Covid-19, reversing an earlier decision that ordered it to administer a parasite medication that has not been approved to treat the disease.
Oster also cited problems with research into using ivermectin to treat the disease, including the withdrawal of a non-peer-reviewed study from a website that posts academic pre-prints.
Julie Smith, the wife of the patient, Jeffrey Smith, had sued the hospital to force doctors to administer the medication.
Jeffrey Smith, 51, tested positive for the virus on July 9 and was admitted to West Chester Hospital nearly a week later, according to court documents.
He was intubated on Aug. 1, and by Aug. 19 his chances of survival had dipped below 30 percent.
A different judge issued a temporary injunction Aug. 23, ordering doctors to begin administering the medication for two weeks.
UC Health, which operates West Chester Hospital, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. »