09/07/2021

Ohio Judge Reverses Colleague’s Decision on COVID Patient’s Ivermectin Treatment

The judge notes, 'judges are not doctors or nurses'

Last month, an Ohio judge ordered a hospital to treat COVID-19 patient Jeffrey Smith with ivermectin after his wife sued, alleging that the facility refused to give her husband the drug, despite him having a doctor’s prescription.

Since mid-July, Smith has been in West Chester Hospital's intensive care unit, battling a severe case of COVID, according to court records. Ivermectin — a deworming drug that some people are using to prevent or treat covid, despite several public health agencies advising against it — was Smith's last shot at survival, his wife and guardian, Julie Smith, argued.

But on Monday, after Smith’s wife and the doctor who prescribed him the ivermectin failed to provide "convincing evidence" at a court hearing to show that the drug could significantly improve his condition, a different judge reversed course. Butler County Judge Michael A. Oster Jr. ordered the hospital to cease administering Smith, 51, the unproven treatment, arguing that "judges are not doctors or nurses."

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.