"Latest peer-reviewed research: Immediate global ivermectin use will end COVID-19 pandemic," headlines have screamed in the past few days, quoting a study recently conducted by the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC). For the unversed, Ivermectin an oral antiparasitic drug. The drug has been prescribed for use in Goa, which has become the first Indian State to do so.

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Ivermectin has proven safe since its introduction more than sixty years ago, reports have said. "And now it’s being proven effective curing COVID-19 in many nations and is being adopted in many nations," wrote Malcolm Roberts on Twitter.

However, Merck, the company that makes Ivermectin has said that there is no benefit from the drug. "There is no scientific basis for potential therapeutic effect against coronavirus," the company has been quoted as saying.

Should we now take the study with a pinch of salt? Commenting on it, BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda wrote, "Goa has decided to make Ivermectin use for all to prevent Covid-19. The movie saw much praise and some opposition (who cite the drug manufacturer's denial of its efficacy). But that's been called misleading and it's hardly unknown for pharma co's to downplay cheaper drugs & promote costly ones."