In a major decision, the Goa government on Monday amended its Covid treatment protocol, recommending that all persons above 18 years should take five tablets of Ivermectin, to prevent the viral load.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and top health officials were present.
"Patients will be treated with Ivermectin 12mg for five days. Expert panels from the UK, Italy, Spain and Japan, found a large, statistically significant reduction in mortality, time to recovery and viral clearance in Covid-19 patients treated with Ivermectin," Rane told reporters here, after the meeting.
"We are giving this as prophylaxis treatment, as a preventive. Ivermectin tablets will be given to all patients above 18 years at government health centres," the health minister added.
Rane said the new protocol, which recommends the Ivermectin drug irrespective of whether a person has tested positive or not, could be the first such initiative in the country.
"However, this does not prevent Covid-19 infection but helps to reduce the severity of the disease and at the same time one should not have a false sense of security and complacency but strictly take all the precautionary measures and follow laid SOPs," he said.
Goa currently tops the Covid positivity rate chart in the country and is in the midst of an unprecedented surge with 31,875 active cases. 1,679 people have died so far in Goa due to Covid-related complications.