Horry County GOP takes another bizarre turn into coronavirus treatment
Horry County Republican leaders might have encouraged party members to get COVID-19 vaccinations, wear face coverings and take other precautions at the GOP’s recent monthly meeting. Instead, they showed a video promoting an unauthorized anti-parasitic drug.
The video promoted ivermectin, used in animals since the early 1980s. Horry County Coroner Robert Edge associated the drug with deworming. He urged people to pay attention to medical sources, such as the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA has not approved or authorized ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, a red flag for medical professionals such as Paul Richardson, chief medical officer at Conway Medical Center. Aware of theories circulating online about ivermectin and COVID-19, Dr. Richardson worries about potential overdoses.
Ivermectin has been tested for treating parasitic infections in humans, and as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, researchers began testing if it could inhibit the spread of the virus in humans.
MEDICAL CONSENSUS
“Some studies have suggested the drug may be useful for that purpose, though a medical consensus has emerged that ivermectin is not an appropriate treatment for COVID-19,” Dale Shoemaker and Mary Norkol reported in The Sun News.
The FDA this month said studies are ongoing on ivermectin and the coronavirus and warned that human use of ivermectin can be highly toxic. The FDA message: “There’s a lot of misinformation around, and you may have heard that it’s okay to take large doses of ivermectin. It is not okay.”
At the GOP meeting, Tracy “Beanz” Diaz interviewed a North Carolina nurse who advised purchase of vitamins and over-the-counter supplements. GOP Chairman Roger Slagle said alternative treatment information was not as available as vaccine information. Yes, for good reason. Slagle said, “It’s a very important caveat that we stressed many many times: Talk to a medical professional, talk to a doctor.”
That is sound information. Promotion of ivermectin and home remedies is well outside of appropriate for a political party.
PANDEMIC POLITICIZED
The Horry GOP’s foray into medical advice illustrates the pathetic degree to which the coronavirus pandemic has been politicized.
In the United States, more than 2,000 people a day are dying from the coronavirus. It has claimed the lives of more than 600,000 people. Dr. Peter Hotez of Baylor University’s College of Medicine, calls it “Death by anti-science aggression.”
Researchers Emma Pierson and Jaline Gerardin estimate that people not vaccinated died at 11 times the rate of those vaccinated. In July and August, red states had 12,000 preventable deaths, blue states 4,800. That is the tragic cost of politicization.
Gov. Henry McMaster has shown more pro-active leadership than some southern state governors, but as he ramps up his reelection campaign, he plays more to his perceived base, and less to the health of residents, especially school children. McMaster approved a legislative proviso that says school districts cannot require masks if they use state funding.
TRIBAL MODE
Schools could get around that by using federal funds to enforce mask wearing, but districts aren’t applying for the federal funds. Ken Richardson, president of the Horry County school board, is a candidate for Congress, and an announced Republican primary challenger to Rep. Tom Rice.
Horry County Sheriff Philip Thompson along with other state sheriffs, joined the politicizing by declaring they would not enforce a proposed federal vaccination mandate for entities with 100 employees. The Horry County Police Department is not under the sheriff, a unique situation. McMaster, in full tribal mode, declared he will “fight [the Biden proposal] to the gates of hell.”
Public health and safety should never be politicized, but this fundamental function of government has become pathetically partisan.
This story was originally published September 25, 2021 at 10:00 AM.