In a joint statement, former health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad, former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye and Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii, said these treatments must also go through specific clinical trials conducted under the principle of “evidence-based medicine”.

“This includes the approval of Ivermectin for the treatment of Covid-19 which should be based on data collected through randomised clinical trials conducted by the health ministry and around the world,” they said.

In the Dewan Rakyat two days ago, several PH MPs suggested that Ivermectin be used immediately, claiming India and the Philippines had successfully used Ivermectin to reduce infections without any reported side effects.

However, they failed to mention that the health authorities in both countries had not announced this publicly.

The three experts said that according to a recent study published yesterday by Cochrane, available data as at May 26 showed strong evidence that Ivermectin should not be used for the treatment and prevention of Covid-19, except in the context of clinical studies.

They added that a systematic review published in the British Journal of Medicine stated that all data up to March 1 found that evidence on the benefits of Ivermectin was of “very low certainty” due to the lack of methodology and small sample size of the studies involved.

“We must examine the data that have been released, including the results of clinical trials by the health ministry which are expected to be completed in September,” they said.

The three urged all Malaysians to be confident in the Covid-19 vaccine as it has shown that it reduces infection and mortality rates as has been proven in Labuan recently.

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