The United States has seen a remarkable spread of dangerous and unapproved pop remedies to COVID-19 since the pandemic began, including but not limited to injecting bleach and the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, but even after the arrival of vaccines, people are still experimenting with bizarre drugs as COVID treatments.

The latest drug making the rounds as the pop-COVID remedy du jour is ivermectin, a medication used to treat parasitic worms in horses and other livestock. After some dubious research suggested the drug may limit the effects of COVID-19, it grew popular with alternative medicine thinkers, including Dr. Pierre Kory, who appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast and promoted the drug.

"(It is my) dream is that every household has ivermectin in their cupboard. And you take it upon development of first symptom of anything approximating a viral symptom … even if it’s not COVID, it’s safe to take it and it’s probably effective against that virus," said Kory.

Ivermectin is not an FDA-approved antiviral medication, and there has been much debate among doctors as to how effective it would be against COVID-19. Some studies have shown that it has antiviral properties in vitro, but the dosage required to be an effective antiviral medication could prove toxic to humans. Medical papers have said there is "very low certainty" the drug can effectively treat COVID-19.

In March, the FDA posted a warning against using Ivermectin to treat COVID-19, writing "Taking large doses of this drug is dangerous and can cause serious harm" and "Never use medications intended for animals on yourself. Ivermectin preparations for animals are very different from those approved for humans."

Nevertheless, Ivermectin became a popular alternative to COVID-19 treatment, despite little evidence of the drug's effectiveness, and the ramifications of the misinformation surrounding the drug can be seen in medical centers. Last Friday, the Mississippi State Department of Health released a statement saying that "At least 70% of the recent calls have been related to ingestion of livestock or animal formulations of ivermectin purchased at livestock supply centers."

All of this led the FDA to tweet, "You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it."

You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it. https://t.co/TWb75xYEY4

— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) August 21, 2021

In better news, the FDA approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which has proven highly effective in preventing COVID-19.