This afternoon at the Colorado Capitol, hours before Colorado lawmakers are set to discuss a controversial GOP-backed measure that would open a legal avenue for doctors to write off-label prescriptions for treatments Unproven COVID-19, including for ivermectin – an anti-parasitic drug primarily used in animals and livestock – campaigner ProgressNow Coloradowho dressed as a horse, turned heads as he stood on the Grand Staircase, carrying signs that read, “Ivermectin is for horses” and “Hooves of my horse paste.”
“They have to save the ivermectin for us horses,” announced the protester, who later identified himself as Ethan Black. “To anyone who wants to take my equine medicine, I say, neigh! I’m the one giving shit to the horse, okay? It shouldn’t come from a human.
Her performance drew smiles and laughter from several passers-by. A few expressed their support and appreciation for his message. The protester said the response so far has been mostly, but not entirely, positive.
“We have a guy who said, ‘I think you’re seriously wrong. But you know, I think he’s the one wrong,” Black said. “You can get vaccinated, you know?
Alongside Black was Summer Nettles, also with ProgressNow. Nettles stressed the urgency of promoting drugs with proven efficacy as COVID continues to spread.
“El Paso, Denver, Arapahoe and Douglas counties are the counties with the most continuous spread of COVID-19,” Nettles said. “People really need to get vaccinated and spread misinformation [when there are still so many COVID cases] is a problem.”
From the grand staircase, activists descended to the basement of the Capitol where people sat, worked and talked at tables.
As they walked down the stairs, the pair were stopped by a Capitol security guard, who said protest signs are not normally allowed inside the building. He warned the pair not to put the signs in front of lawmakers or bring them into committee rooms.
As they exited the basement stairwell, the activists were again greeted mostly with amused laughter. But as they began to engage with the crowd, several women came to the defense of ivermectin.
” Go to [National Institutes of Health] website,” one woman said. “They recommend ivermectin for COVID-19. Do you want me to get [the website] for you?”
Black responded by saying there were “lots of problematic studies” that had been done on ivermectin. But another woman continued to insist that there was evidence that ivermectin was effective for COVID.
“Ivermectin studies have been done all over the world,” the other woman replied. “What study are you referring to?
There have been a number of studies purported to support ivermectin as a treatment for COVID. However, experts generally agree that existing studies are weak, methodologically flawedand potentially even misleading. In any case, there is not yet convincing evidence that ivermectin is safe or effective as a COVID treatment.
Yet the women continued to argue with the demonstrators, undeterred.
Nettles pushed back against a woman’s claims about the effectiveness of ivermectin. When asked how she knew, Nettles said her mother was a nurse who treated COVID patients.
“You’re quoting your mother, not research?” said the woman.
The debate continued for several minutes before activists disengaged and walked out, eventually landing on the west steps of the Capitol.
There, activists spoke to a few other passers-by, including a woman – Erin Meschke of Boulder – who on March 2 had testified in support of a failed “natural immunity” bill that sought to exempt people previously infected with employer vaccine COVID. and trial warrants.
“You know, it’s not horse dough,” Meschke said in passing. “It’s been used for 80 years.”
Avermectin – the precursor to ivermectin – was actually discovered in the 1970s. It has been used as an anti-parasitic drug for decades, but it is unclear why proponents of the drug believe an anti-parasitic would treat a viral infection such as COVID.
The bill proposing to legalize ivermectin prescriptions for COVID is due to be heard by the House Health and Insurance Committee tonight, and members will then vote on the measure. This story will be updated once the results of this vote are known.
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