WASHINGTON (AP) — Health experts and medical groups are pushing to stamp out the growing use of a decades-old parasite drug to treat COVID-19.

Ivermectin is approved in the U.S. to treat infections from tiny worms and other parasites in humans and some animals like cows and horses.

But with COVID-19 infections surging again, more Americans are turning to the drug despite warnings that it has shown little benefit and can cause harmful side effects.

Federal officials have seen a surge in prescriptions this summer, along with increasing calls to poison control centers and hospitalizations.

 

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