COVID-19 patient treated with ivermectin dies, attorney says

CINCINNATI (WXIX/Gray News) – A man with COVID-19 whose wife sued to force a hospital to treat him with ivermectin has died, according to his attorney.

Jeffrey Smith, 51, was diagnosed with COVID-19 in July and was in the intensive care unit at West Chester Hospital.

Smith’s attorney told WXIX he died on Sept. 25.

In August, Butler County Common Pleas Judge Gregory Howard ordered the hospital to treat Smith with ivermectin after his wife filed an emergency order for use of the drug.

In the complaint, Smith’s wife said she began researching COVID treatment options and came across several articles where patients were given ivermectin. After treatment, she claimed all of the patients were discharged from the hospital.

The judge’s ruling required the hospital to allow Dr. Fred Wagshul to administer 30 mg of ivermectin to Smith every day for three weeks.

But two weeks after the initial ruling, another Butler County Common Pleas Court judge, Michael Oster, said the hospital was not required to give Smith ivermectin.

Oster based his ruling on the lack of evidence showing the anti-parasitic is likely to succeed in treating COVID-19, according to court documents obtained by WXIX.

Ivermectin is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use against the coronavirus. The drug is approved for use against some parasitic worms, head lice and some skin conditions.

The FDA says it is doing “initial research” into its effectiveness against COVID-19 and adds taking the drug in large doses is dangerous and can cause serious harm.

The FDA has discouraged the drug from being used to treat patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and from it being used as a preventative measure.

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