In Idaho, ivermectin can be sold over the counter — after Gov. Little signs bill

Kyle Pfannenstiel, Idaho Capital Sun

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) – Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill to let ivermectin be sold as an over-the-counter medicine — without a prescription or consultation with a health care professional.

Typically used to treat parasites in humans, ivermectin has drawn interest since the COVID pandemic — after largely conservative activists, doctors and politicians inaccurately touted it as an alternative medicine.

Usually, the U.S. Food and Drug and Administration, or FDA, handles whether drugs should be made available over-the-counter, a process that uses data on safety and effectiveness.

The FDA hasn’t approved ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19, saying the federal agency finds existing clinical trial data don’t show “ivermectin is effective against COVID-19 in humans.” The federal regulator’s website also warns large doses of ivermectin “can be dangerous,” overdose can risk death, and human-appropriate doses can interact with other medications, such as blood thinners.

Little on Monday signed Senate Bill 1211, the ivermectin deregulation bill, according to the governor office’s legislation tracker. The new law takes effect immediately — through an emergency clause.

Passed during the last week of this year’s legislative session, Idaho lawmakers didn’t hear public feedback on the bill from doctors, pharmacists or health care professionals.

The bill was cosponsored by the top Republicans in the Idaho House and Senate — Senate President Pro Tempore Kelly Anthon, R-Rupert and House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star — along with two other lawmakers: Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, and Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene.

Pam Eaton, CEO of the Idaho Retailers Association which represents Idaho pharmacies, testified in Senate committee that without an over-the-counter label that includes information like drug interactions, Idaho pharmacies largely can’t sell ivermectin over-the-counter.

Two states allow ivermectin to be sold over-the-counter, according to local news reports: Arkansas passed a law this year, and Tennessee passed a law three years ago. North Carolina is considering a similar bill.