Department of Health(DOH)

Dear Ryan, Please be informed that we are endorsing your request to the DOH Public Health Services Team (PHST) for action. Kindly await for their response, thank you. All the best and God bless!

June 23, 2023 Dear Ryan Cuartero, Greetings! Thank you for your request dated Jun 02, 2023 07:25:35 AM under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch. Your Request You asked for Ivermectin as Covid-19 treatment and prophylaxis. Response to Request Your FOI request is approved. - As to date, there are still insufficient published studies supporting the use of Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19. Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, it is determined that the evidence on whether Ivermectin reduces mortality, need for invasive mechanical ventilation, need for hospital admission, duration of hospitalization, and time to clinical improvement in COVID-19 patients is of very low certainty due to the limitations of available trial data, including small number of events. Furthermore, the WHO reiterates the potential of the drug to increase the risk of serious adverse events (SAEs). In addition, the Philippine COVID-19 Living Recommendations also does not recommend the use of Ivermectin among patients with COVID-19 regardless of severity of symptoms. This is due to the lack of insufficient evidence or very low quality of evidence supporting its beneficial use. The Philippine COVID-19 Living Clinical Practice Guidelines has strongly recommended the use of vaccines and its importance in providing protection against the COVID-19 infection. This may be accessed through this link: http://bit.ly/PSMIDLCPG. For further queries and concerns, you may contact us via email at [email protected]. Thank you for your continued support. Your right to request a review If you are unhappy with this response to your FOI request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response by writing to the Central Appeals and Review Committee, at [email protected]. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made within 15 calendar days from the date when you received this letter. We will complete the review and tell you the result within 30 calendar days from the date when we receive your review request. Kindly accomplish the FOI Request Feedback form at the link: https://bit.ly/DOHFOIFeedbackForm If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Office of the President under Administrative Order No. 22 (s. 2011). Thank you. Respectfully, FOI Decision Maker FOI Receiving Officer