UVA Health has signed on to a national study on whether two medications — ivermectin and fluvoxamine — can be used to treat COVID-19.
About 15,000 Americans in total are expected to be involved in the trial.
“While we have some great new drugs for COVID-19 in outpatients … supplies are limited and it’s still important to find potential new treatments,” said Dr. Patrick E.H. Jackson, who is leading the clinical trial at UVA Health.
“Because the drugs we’re studying are cheap and widely available, they could have a huge global impact if we find they’re effective for COVID treatment.”
Fluvoxamine is often prescribed to treat depression, while ivermectin is used to treat parasitic infections. (The Food and Drug Administration currently recommends that ivermectin not be used to treat COVID-19, and a study published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the drug does not prevent severe COVID cases.)
To be eligible for the study, participants must be at least 30 years old and have tested positive for COVID within the previous 10 days. They also must have at least two COVID symptoms for seven days or less.
UVA Health says participants do not have to live near a research site, because the medications can be shipped to their homes at no cost.
Find more information on the trial by visiting activ6study.org or calling (833) 385-1880.
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