Although the summit touted ivermectin and other alternative "treatments" to prevent transmission, the seven doctors who attended the Florida Anti-Vaccination Summit were still infected with COVID-19.
The doctors all attended the Florida COVID Summit held in Ocala, Florida on November 6. The event aims to discuss "natural immunity, COVID recovery and vaccine authorization, COVID vaccination and children, successful outpatient treatment for COVID, and obtaining religious and medical treatment according to the description of the event reported by WFOR-TV, exemption from the [vaccine] task.
At the meeting, 71-year-old cardiologist and anti-vaccine advocate Dr. Bruce Borros announced, “My wife and I have been taking ivermectin for 16 months. I have never felt healthier in my life.”
Two days later, he contracted COVID-19, the summit organizer Dr. John Little told the Daily Beast.
Little added that the other six people also tested positive or developed symptoms "within a few days" during the meeting. Little said he believes that those who were infected did not get the virus at the meeting, but got the virus from their hometown before they arrived.
In humans, Ivermectin is used to treat skin diseases such as parasites, head lice, and rosacea. Right-wing politicians and media figures promoted it as a cure for COVID-19.
However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have warned people not to use ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19. Clinical data has not yet shown that the drug has any effect on preventing COVID-19 or reducing the symptoms of COVID-19 patients.
Merck, the pharmaceutical company that produces the drug, stated that “there is no meaningful evidence of the clinical activity or efficacy of COVID-19 patients.”
Nevertheless, Littell is still the main supporter of the drug. According to Yahoo News, he reportedly prescribes the drug for people in other states who cannot allow local medical professionals to do so. He has also written many medical exemptions for vaccine authorization.
Other speakers at the summit include Dr. Pierre Kory of Wisconsin. Corey once stated that the "medicinalization" of ivermectin has taken place, and the pharmaceutical and medical industries have initiated "public relations activities" that "designed to destroy" the reputation of the drug.
In December 2020, Corey told the U.S. Senate that Ivermectin is an "effective'magic drug'" that can stop the disease and its spread. The Associated Press's fact-checkers marked his statement as "false."
Another speaker at the summit was Dr. Peter McCullough, who was reportedly a doctor and said that the COVID-19 vaccine has killed 50,000 Americans. According to Yahoo News, McCullough also recommends that people under 50 do not need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
PolitiFact, a fact-checking website, rated similar claims about the so-called deadlines for vaccines as "false."
The National Institutes of Health stated that most studies claiming to show the benefits of ivermectin contain "incomplete information and significant methodological limitations, which make it difficult to rule out common causes of bias."
Newsweek contacted Little, McCullough and Corey for comments.
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