"Pfivermectin" Isn't a Real Drug

The livestock deworming drug Ivermectin has become a major COVID-19 talking point lately. The CDC and FDA have warned against using the drug as a COVID cure, while several prominent figures – including Rand Paul and Joe Rogan – have espoused it as a miracle cure. Alternatively, the Pfizer vaccine was the first COVID-19 vaccine approved by the FDA.

We read the linked article posted by many social media users and found that it comes from The Babylon Bee, a satire site. The article itself is overtly humorous. For example, one section reads: “’It’s important to understand that this drug is nothing like Ivermectin, even though Pfivermectin rhymes with Ivermectin and it pretty much does the exact same thing,’ said Pfizer CEO Hans Pfizer. ‘Everyone knows Ivermectin is a widely discredited horse drug, and ours is not. Very important distinction there.’”