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URGENT RECALL of 44 different cough medicines

<p>Numerous cough medicines containing pholcodine are being stripped from pharmacy shelves after a safety investigation was undertaken by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).</p> <p>55 products are being cancelled from the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.</p> <p>Of the 55 products containing pholcodine that were registered in Australia, 44 products are currently stocked on shelves in pharmacies and are subject to the recall, a spokesperson from the TGA told 7News.</p> <p>The discovery of a new link between pholcodine-containing medicines and an increased risk of anaphylactic reactions to certain medicines used as muscle relaxants during general anaesthesia prompted the action.</p> <p>Pholcodine has been used in a wide range of over-the-counter medicines to treat dry coughs, particularly present in syrups and lozenges. It is also used in combination with other medicines in products that treat the symptoms of cold and flu.</p> <p>“It is difficult to reliably predict who may be at risk of anaphylaxis during anaesthesia and some patients may not know if they have taken pholcodine medicines recently,” TGA Head Adjunct Professor John Skerritt said.</p> <p>“Some patients undergoing emergency surgery may not be in a position to talk to their anaesthetist at all. In addition, while surgical facilities may ask about which prescription medicines a patient is taking, they may not ask about over-the-counter products.</p> <p>“Fortunately, safer alternatives to treat a dry cough are available and consumers should ask their doctor or pharmacist for advice. I urge consumers to check if any of your over-the-counter cold and flu medicines contain pholcodine and, if they do, ask your doctor or pharmacist to suggest an alternative treatment.</p> <p>“If you will need general anaesthesia and have taken pholcodine in the past 12 months, I advise you to tell your health professional. Health professionals should also check whether patients scheduled to undergo general anaesthesia have used pholcodine in the previous 12 months.”</p> <p>The European Medicines Agency (EMA) had recently recommended the withdrawal of marketing authorisations for these products in Europe, prompting the review in Australia.</p> <p>Supported by a Western Australia study, the European findings showed that pholcodine was a risk factor.</p> <p>The TGA has received 50 reports of Australian cases of suspected pholcodine-related anaphylactic reactions to neuromuscular blockers, including one fatality earlier this year.</p> <p>Find the full list of recalled products <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/information-about-specific-safety-alerts-and-recalls/about-pholcodine-cough-medicines-cancelled-tga-and-recalled-pharmacies-safety-reasons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty</em></p>

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Nationwide recall issued for popular vitamin

<p>Almost a dozen batches of a popular vitamin have been recalled over a labelling error.</p> <p>Product Safety Australia have issued the nationwide recall of certain batches of “JSHealth Vitamins Pty Ltd Detox + Debloat” this week after the error was identified.</p> <p>While the tablets contain an extract from Foeniculum vulgare (fennel seeds), the bottles say “do not have required pregnancy and children warning statements on the label”, it said.</p> <p>“This medicine should not be taken by women who are pregnant, likely to become pregnant or are breast-feeding or children under 12 years of age.”</p> <p>The impacted batch numbers are:</p> <ul> <li>B23434</li> <li>B23441</li> <li>B23462</li> <li>B23463</li> <li>B23485</li> <li>B211091</li> <li>B211111</li> <li>B211161</li> <li>B211231</li> <li>B211341</li> </ul> <p>The products were sold nationally and online at pharmacies and through the JSHealth Vitamins website between November 2020 and October 2022 and have an expiry date range of November 2022 to March 2024.</p> <p>If you are an impacted customer, you're advised to return the affected bottles to your place of purchase for a full refund.</p> <p>For more information, visit the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) website <a href="https://apps.tga.gov.au/Prod/sara/arn-detail.aspx?k=RC-2022-RN-01392-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> and here or contact JSHealth Vitamins customer service on 0405 802 877 between 9:30 am – 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.</p> <p><em>Image: https://jshealthvitamins.com/</em></p>

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URGENT RECALL: Lucas' Papaw Ointment pulled from shelves

<p>Several batches of Lucas’ Papaw Ointment have been urgently recalled, due to microbial contamination.</p> <p>The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) issued the nationwide recall of 11 batches of the topical ointment.</p> <p>The microorganisms in questions have been identified as Aspergillus tubingensis, Sordaria humana, Penicillium paneum and Paenibacillus glucanolyticus.</p> <p>The TGA said that while these moulds and bacteria pose “minimal risk” to the general population, there is a “remote risk” that individuals who are immunocompromised could become ill if exposed to these organisms.</p> <p>The impacted batch numbers are:</p> <ul> <li>00522D22, 15g, Expiry April 2025</li> <li>00822E25, 15g, Expiry May 2025</li> <li>00822E26, 15g, Expiry May 2025</li> <li>00822E27, 15g, Expiry May 2025</li> <li>00822F01, 15g, Expiry June 2025</li> <li>00822F03, 15g, Expiry June 2025</li> <li>00822F06, 15g, Expiry June 2025</li> <li>00822E31, 15g, Expiry May 2025</li> <li>00522E04, 75g, Expiry May 2025</li> <li>00522E05, 75g, Expiry May 2025</li> <li>00822E30, 200g, Expiry May 2025</li> </ul> <p>Those who use the cult product are urged to check the batch number which can be found at the ‘crimp’ at the top of the tube or at the bottom of the bigger containers.</p> <p>Those who have an ointment from an affected batch are advised to “immediately stop using it” and return it to the place of purchase for a refund.</p> <p>No other batches or other Lucas’ Papaw Remedies products are being recalled at this time.</p> <p><em>Images: Lucas Papaw.com.au </em></p>

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"That won't be happening": Why Clive Palmer refused ICU treatment

<p dir="ltr">Clive Palmer rejected ICU treatment when he contracted Covid and instead called specialists in the US who treated former President Donald Trump.</p> <p dir="ltr">The <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/clive-palmer-rushed-to-hospital" target="_blank" rel="noopener">billionaire was rushed</a> to Pindara Private Hospital on the Gold Coast with breathing difficulties on February 27 after contracting the Delta variant of Covid.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 67-year-old mining magnate was also diagnosed with double pneumonia, but refused ICU treatment which was strongly suggested by doctors.</p> <p dir="ltr">Palmer instead left the hospital and returned to his mansion where he called the US specialists on Zoom, where he was fast-tracked into a drug trial where they pumped a cocktail of five antiviral drugs into him.</p> <p dir="ltr">Two of the drugs included ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, which have not yet been approved by the Therapeutics Goods Association (TGA).</p> <p dir="ltr">Palmer’s senior management contacted American gastroenterologist and Ivermectin advocate Professor Thomas Borody along with a team of US specialists.</p> <p dir="ltr">The US doctors worked with Palmer’s doctors to monitor his treatment at home, including having an ambulance waiting outside in the event he needed to be rushed back to hospital.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I would have died otherwise, without doubt,’’ Palmer told <a href="https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/coronavirus/clive-palmer-refused-icu-treatment-while-battling-covid19-in-favour-of-taking-ivermectin-and-hydroxychloroquine/news-story/c6fc9735e2e93c2a2ebbc987198e2f9c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sky News</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I've been told that without the antiviral intervention on that Sunday night I would likely have been dead within five hours.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The US specialists, a couple of whom treated (Donald) Trump for Covid, were very strong about not going onto a ventilator.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I had faith in the US doctors. I'm not being critical of the Pindara people at all. They believed ventilation was necessary but I had alternative advice and I stuck with that.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I said that won't be happening and I went home.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Palmer was also high risk because of his age, weight and being unvaccinated and confessed he was still not feeling the best.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I started to come good within 10 hours,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I'm still not 100 per cent. I get tired pretty easily but I'm not getting any younger I suppose.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: YouTube</em></p>

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TGA approves new COVID-19 treatment

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has granted provisional approval for a new oral treatment for COVID-19, which is due to arrive in Australia within weeks.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The new treatment, called PAXLOVID, was developed by Pfizer to treat symptoms of COVID-19 and reduce the risk of hospitalisation or severe illness.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The TGA has approved the treatment for adults over the age of 18 who don’t require supplemental oxygen and are at a higher risk of needing to be treated in hospital.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr Krishan Thiru, Pfizer Australia’s Medical Director, spoke to </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>OverSixty</em> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">about who the provisional approval is meant for and how the treatment works.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This is an oral, take-at-home treatment that’s designed to help people who are already diagnosed with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of deterioration,” Dr Thiru explains.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This could include people who are aged over 60, people who have other risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, (people who are) smokers or they’re overweight, chronic heart, lung or kidney disease, people who are immunocompromised, or people who have an active cancer.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“So it’s designed to treat those people who still have mild disease, so they’ve just been diagnosed, to prevent their risk of deterioration.”</span></p> <p><strong>What is PAXLOVID?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">PAXLOVID consists of two kinds of tablets: nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets. Nirmatrelvir - which was developed in Pfizer laboratories - does the work of stopping the virus from spreading through the body, while ritonavir - which is also used in treatments for HIV - slows down the breakdown of nirmatrelvir so that it can have an effect for a longer period of time.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height:0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7847041/pax1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/aaa8dba6758145bcb2bba296c5bdfe57" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">A new treatment for COVID-19 uses two pills to stop the virus from replicating and spreading through the body. Image: Supplied</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“(PAXLOVID) is an antiviral. So how it works is that it inhibits one of the key enzymes that the SARS coronavirus that causes COVID-19 requires in order to start replicating,” Dr Thiru explains. “So it slows down the ability of the virus to spread within the body and then allows the body to then utilise its own immune defences to overcome the virus.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr Thiru says stopping the virus and giving the body a chance to defend itself reduces a person’s chances of becoming severely ill.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Because the treatment needs to start within five days of symptoms occurring, Dr Thiru says PAXLOVID is “essentially a preventative treatment”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The drug that would eventually become nirmatrelvir was </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://cen.acs.org/pharmaceuticals/drug-discovery/How-Pfizer-scientists-transformed-an-old-drug-lead-into-a-COVID-19-antiviral/100/i3" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">first developed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in July 2020, with encouraging results from studies in rats emerging in September.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In July of the following year, the first of three clinical trials of PAXLOVID began. The EPIC-HR (Evaluation of Protease Inhibition for COVID-19 in High-Risk Patients) trial recruited about 2200 people with COVID-19 who weren’t in hospital but at risk of severe illness. About half were given PAXLOVID, while the other half received a placebo.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As for the demographics of people involved, Dr Thiru says 49 percent were women, the median age was 45 years, and that different ethnic groups were also represented.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The study was conducted in North America, Central America, South America, in Asia, in Europe, and in South Africa as well,” he says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The trial found that PAXLOVID reduced a person’s likelihood of hospitalisation or severe illness by 89 percent when they were treated within three days of symptoms appearing.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Out of the 697 people receiving PAXLOVID, only five were hospitalised in comparison to 44 out of the 682 people in the control group.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For those treated within five days of symptoms starting, the trial found that PAXLOVID reduced risks by 88 percent in comparison to the placebo.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though the results were consistent across the different age groups, Dr Thiru says there was a “suggestion” that the treatment may have a larger benefit for those aged over 60.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It wouldn’t be surprising if older people were to benefit,” he says. “And that’s because… the chance of people deteriorating is higher in that age group. So a clinical trial is more likely to show a difference, if indeed there is any, between the placebo group and the PAXLOVID group.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, he stresses that it’s too early to draw conclusions about findings related to particular age groups or even between men and women.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“As this medicine becomes more used in the real world, more data will be collected from all of the countries that it’s been used in,” he says. “And that may help describe which particular subgroups of patients benefit more.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“But, obviously, we need to wait until those results become available.”</span></p> <p><strong>How does PAXLOVID compare to vaccines?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unlike vaccines and other provisionally-approved treatments - such as the injectable combination treatment Ronapreve - Dr Thiru says PAXLOVID doesn’t target the virus’ spike protein in order to disrupt it.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“So it works once the virus is already inside the body or inside the cell and replicating,” Dr Thiru says. “So it doesn’t target the spike protein.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This also means that mutations in the virus may have less of an impact on the treatment’s effectiveness in comparison to vaccines.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The approval comes as the Australian government has secured 500,000 treatment courses this year, with supplies due to start coming in within weeks.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We supply (PAXLOVID) to the government, and then they distribute that,” Dr Thiru says, explaining that the treatments will then be distributed via the national medicines stockpile to the states, who will then distribute it to individuals.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though Australians continue to face difficulties accessing rapid antigen tests (RATs) and PCR testing sites remain overwhelmed, the new treatment relies on identifying COVID-19 as soon as symptoms appear.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since COVID-19 </span><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/flu-vs-covid19.htm"><span style="font-weight: 400;">shares some symptoms</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with the common cold and flu - think fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, and body aches - Dr Thiru says it’s best to get tested as soon as symptoms appear in case you need to take PAXLOVID.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“As soon as (people) experience any symptoms that could possibly be COVID-19, go and get tested as soon as possible, because time becomes of the urgency because if it does turn out to be COVID-19, then you need to have initiated (the treatment) within five days of when your symptoms first commence,” he says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If it’s anything unusual or out of the ordinary for you, and it is one of the common symptoms described for COVID-19, we’d urge you to go out and get tested as quickly as possible.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>

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A Father's emotional "anti-vax" Facebook post labeled a hoax

<p><em>Image: Getty </em></p> <p>A Sydney father’s declaration that his “beautiful” seven-year-old son died in the back of an ambulance of a “massive heart attack” days after receiving his Covid-19 vaccine has been labelled a hoax by authorities.</p> <p>In a long Facebook comment, that swiftly drummed up thousands of likes, comments and shares, “Steve Leary” claimed he lost his son “Lachlan” last Wednesday “to the vaccine”.</p> <p>“He had been unwell on Wednesday night with a fever and we monitored him closely, 6 am the next morning he started having breathing difficulties so we took him to Westmead Hospital. They tried to stop us from going in with him but it did not work,” the comment, which, along with the profile was taken down.</p> <p>“4 hours passed after many tests. He was sent home 5 hours later. Friday morning at 4 am we heard him yell out, he was on his bedroom floor, he then collapsed, he was not breathing, my wife and I began CPR, I called the ambo on loud speaker.</p> <p>“Ambo arrived within 7 mins, my son passed away in the ambulance. He had a massive heart attack … The government has ruined my family, they have taken away our only son, we put our trust in the government to keep us safe and they killed my boy!!!!”</p> <p>Officials believe that Leary’s comment was nothing more than a renewed attempt from anti-vaxxers to discourage parents from booking their children in for the jab.</p> <p>There is no record of a Lachlan Leary who died in Sydney last week — or at all. According to NSW health, “it has not been able to locate any record of any such incident”.</p> <p>“There are many inaccurate posts currently circulating on social media,” The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, where Leary claims “Lachlan” was taken, wrote on Facebook, refuting the claims.</p> <p>“There is no record of any child having passed away following Covid vaccination at our hospital.”</p> <p>Leary’s claim comes just a week after five- to 11-year-olds became eligible to receive the Covid-19 jab.</p> <p>In a statement to 7 News, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) — which records all adverse events associated with the Covid-19 vaccines — also dismissed Leary’s claim.</p> <p>The TGA said it “has not received any adverse event reports involving the death of any children aged between 5 and 11 years”.</p>

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TGA announces final decision: MDMA and psilocybin will not be rescheduled

<p>In October, Cosmos <a style="font-size: 14px;" rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/body-and-mind/tga-psilocybin-report/" target="_blank">reported</a><span style="font-size: 14px;"> on the pending decision from Australia’s drug regulator on the potential rescheduling of psilocybin and MDMA from Schedule 9 (Prohibited Substances) to Schedule 8 (Controlled Medicines) of the Poisons Standard.</span></p> <div class="copy"> <p>The shift would see these treatments move beyond their current use solely in restricted clinical trials to broader applications in the treatment of a range of psychiatric disorders.</p> <p>At the time the article was written, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had received 453 supportive submissions for MDMA and 575 for psilocybin, and 11 opposed for each. A growing body of experts was pushing strongly to have the two treatments down-scheduled.</p> <p>Earlier this week, the TGA announced its <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tga.gov.au/scheduling-decision-final/notice-final-decisions-amend-or-not-amend-current-poisons-standard-relation-psilocybin-and-mdma" target="_blank">final decision</a>: MDMA and psilocybin will not be rescheduled for use as medicines at this time.</p> <p>This will be a blow to those who have been advocating for the substances’ inclusion as controlled medicines, citing evidence of safety and efficacy for a range of clinical treatments. However, a number of researchers have welcomed the news.</p> <p>Citing research published by Dr Martin Williams, Executive Director of Psychedelic Research In Science &amp; Medicine (PRISM Ltd), and colleagues, the TGA announcement notes that any changes to the scheduling of MDMA and psilocybin must be done with the current Australian clinical context in mind, ensuring that Australia’s medical community is adequately equipped with expertise in both administration and ethical use.</p> <p>Williams has subsequently expressed his support for the announcement, noting that this decision reflects insufficient evidence rather than any identified safety concerns.</p> <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p177271-o1" class="wpcf7"> <p style="display: none !important;"> </p> <!-- Chimpmail extension by Renzo Johnson --></div> </div> <p>“While excellent late-phase clinical research is ongoing around the world, and the results so far have been very promising, we agree that the standards of evidence required for formal approval and implementation still need to be met,” Williams says.</p> <p>He reiterates that the decision doesn’t mark the end of the road for the drugs in a clinical setting, but simply ensures research continues to work towards establishing safe practices.</p> <p>“Australian research needs to be conducted to ensure successful implementation in the local environment, to engage our medical community, and to pave the way towards appropriate training and accreditation of Australian mental health professionals in this game-changing area of mental health practice,” he says.</p> <p>Fellow PRISM director Dr Stephen Bright agreed with this position, stating that rescheduling at this time would be “premature given there is still no accredited training in Australia”.</p> <p>“My concern was that the application for rescheduling, as submitted, did not go far enough to ensure adequate clinical governance for the use of these powerful therapeutic drugs,” says Bright.</p> <p>“Without an established and integrated system of clinical governance for the provision of psychedelics, rescheduling alone may open the door to unsafe and unethical practices. Appropriate training in this novel and paradigm-changing approach is still broadly lacking, even among mental health professionals.”</p> <p>“At PRISM Ltd, our focus remains on completing the research we are engaged in that will put Australia in a better position to make these drugs medicines.”</p> <!-- Start of tracking content syndication. Please do not remove this section as it allows us to keep track of republished articles --> <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=177271&amp;title=TGA+announces+final+decision%3A+MDMA+and+psilocybin+will+not+be+rescheduled" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> <!-- End of tracking content syndication --></div> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/australia/psychedelics-will-not-be-rescheduled/" target="_blank">This article</a> was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/jamie-priest" target="_blank">Jamie Priest</a>. Jamie Priest is a science journalist at Cosmos. She has a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of Adelaide.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p> </div>

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TGA warns Aussies against using Ivermectin for COVID-19

<div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has detected an increase in the amount of a drug called Ivermectin being imported and it warns against the use of this drug for the treatment of COVID-19 as it is untested for this condition.</p> <p>Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug which has been shown to be effective in vitro against a broad range of viruses including HIV, dengue, influenza and zika.</p> <p>However, it is not approved for the treatment of COVID-19. In a statement, the TGA said: ‘The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), part of the Department of Health, has detected increased importation and prescribing of Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19.’</p> <p>‘The TGA strongly discourages self-medication and self-dosing with Ivermectin for COVID-19 as it may be dangerous to your health.’</p> <p><strong>Even the drug’s manufacturer warns against using it this way</strong></p> <p>Even the drug's manufacturer, Merck Sharp &amp; Dohme (MSD), has urged people not to use the medication to treat COVID-19, warning in a statement saying:</p> <p>"No scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against COVID-19 from pre-clinical studies; No meaningful evidence for clinical activity or clinical efficacy in patients with COVID-19 disease, and a concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies."</p> <p>Despite those urgings, Ivermectin's popularity amongst fringe medical and anti-vaccination groups - and its promotion via the Internet - has seen demand for it increase here in Australia.</p> <p><strong>Ivermectin is often promoted by anti-COVID figures</strong></p> <p>The cheap and common drug is often promoted by anti-COVID vaccination or anti-lockdown figures, such as former Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly and a number of US conservative, fringe campaigners.</p> <p>Ivermectin has been used around the world for years as a treatment for a range of conditions including head lice, parasites, worms and scabies. It is available as a pill, lotion and shampoo.</p> <p>The drug's advocates have pointed to several studies which allegedly show its effectiveness against COVID-19.</p> <p><a rel="noopener" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32251768/" target="_blank">Some Australian research</a> indicated Ivermectin could inhibit the virus from replicating within a cell and reported the drug warrants further investigation into the possible benefits for humans. However, this trial was only carried out in a laboratory.</p> <p>Other research found the amounts needed of Ivermectin would not be possible for human and other research said there was <a rel="noopener" href="mailto:https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD015017.pub2/full" target="_blank">‘conflicting’ evidence</a> as to its benefits.</p> <p>The Cochrane alliance, a global collaboration between scientists to assess clinical research, said the completed studies were "small and few are considered high quality".</p> <p>"We are uncertain about the efficacy and safety of Ivermectin used to treat or prevent COVID‐19," the alliance reported.</p> <p>The TGA has not approved the drug for COVID-19 treatment, saying more investigation was needed.</p> <strong>What’s happening overseas?</strong> <p>In the United States, health authorities have warned people against using doses of Ivermectin.</p> <p>The problem has become noticeable in some states where local health authorities have noticed dramatic increases in poisoning.</p> <p>The Health Department of the US State of Mississippi said 70 per cent of the calls it received recently about poisoning have been related to people taking Ivermectin.</p> <p><em>Photo: Getty Images </em></p> </div>

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“Torture device”: Derryn Hinch says vaginal mesh recipients were “kept in the dark”

<p>Victorian Senator Derryn Hinch has made a passionate plea at the senate inquiry into the use of vaginal mesh to treat urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, which has left thousands of women with life-changing physical damage and pain.</p> <p>After the senate committee made the recommendation that vaginal mesh only be used as a last resort and only with fully informed consent, tabling a report with 13 suggested changes to its use, senators from all sides of politics agreed that such a devastating medical scandal can never happen again.</p> <p>“Many women who have had transvaginal mesh implants have had devastating complications resulting in ongoing emotional trauma, embarrassment, shame, depression, debilitating pain, recurring infection and a poor quality of life,” Greens senator and committee chair, Rachel Siewert, said.</p> <p>Senator Hinch said the committee had heard from many women who felt they had been let down by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.</p> <p>“Having first been told there’s only a one per cent chance of an adverse reaction, they have since been treated like mushrooms,” the Human Headline said.</p> <p>“Kept in the dark and fed bulls*** by doctors, hospital administrators, the drug companies and sadly even the TGA.”</p> <p>He described the tragedy as “the biggest medical scandal for Australian women since thalidomide in the 1950s and 1960s, when kids were born without arms and legs.”</p> <p>Senator Hinch said people affected by this “torture device” deserve justice. “This should never have happened. We need to fix it. We need to be providing support for these women.”</p>

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