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When we all thought that we need a super medication against covid, what this country did just dismantle the pandemic worry about.

The Indonesian Food and Drug Monitoring Agency or BPOM has granted the Emergency Use Authorization for anti-parasitic drug ivermectin on July 15, 2021, as the therapeutic drug to support the Covid-19 treatment.

The country was at its worst-case scenario epidemic according to its officials as the medical authorities were desperate to control the outbreak and Indonesia has 277 million people and is considered to be the world’s fourth most populous country.

The Strait Times reported:

The Indonesian government on Thursday (July 15) began distributing free medicine and vitamins to self-isolating Covid-19 patients in high-risk areas as the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus continued to rip through the country, emptying pharmacy shelves.

Each package will have seven days worth of therapeutic Covid-19 drugs and vitamins and will be given to asymptomatic patients as well as those with mild to moderate symptoms including fever and dry cough. The medication for the latter group will require consultation with a doctor and a prescription.

Medical facilities are stretched thin, and demand for oxygen and medication has also soared. As scores of people are isolating themselves at home and self-medicating, prices of drugs have shot up in pharmacies and online. The health ministry has since moved to cap the prices of drugs such as favipiravir, remdesivir, and ivermectin.

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