Amanda Cropp05:00, Dec 24 2021
In mid-November hundreds of people marched in support of Murupara GP Bernard Conlon, who refuses to take the Pfizer vaccine.
Murupara GP Bernard Conlon is taking legal action to force Medsafe to release a supply of ivermectin he is trying to import for his patients.
Conlon, who is unvaccinated and says he has taken the unapproved Covid-19 treatment himself with no ill-effects, has filed a case in the Rotorua District Court seeking a judicial review of a Medsafe decision to confiscate his consignment of ivermectin.
The drug is used to de-worm livestock and to treat a very limited number of parasitic diseases in humans, but the Ministry of Health has warned it could cause serious harm if used to treat or prevent Covid-19.
Personal imports of ivermectin have jumped sharply this year and Conlon’s shipment was among 905 referred to Medsafe, 357 in November alone. That compares with a total of 13 importations stopped at the border in 2020.
Medical Council chair Dr Curtis Walker confirmed the council had received six notifications relating to medical practitioners importing or attempting to import ivermectin, and Conlon told Stuff he was one of them.
After researching its use overseas, he had bought and attempted to import a large quantity of the relatively inexpensive drug, with the intention of providing it at no cost to his high-risk patients who would benefit from early-stage treatment.The latest from our fact-checking team, direct to your inbox.Subscribe for free
Conlon said he took ivermectin, prescribed by a colleague at his request, to protect patients when he was still operating as an unvaccinated doctor, and he experienced no side effects.
However, Medsafe strongly recommends against people attempting to treat themselves with ivermectin for Covid-19 saying there is no clear evidence it works, and when ingested in high doses, the drug can cause low blood pressure, worsening asthma, seizures and liver damage.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.493.0_en.html#goog_1622727294PlayUnmuteCurrent Time 0:06/Duration 2:38Loaded: 31.25% FullscreenSTUFFThere are 10 ingredients in the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. A microchip is not one of them.
Conlon offered to run a small trial for Medsafe to compare outcomes from other medical practices that offered Covid-19 patients only paracetamol and a pulse oximeter as a treatment choice, but he said Medsafe was not interested.
Conlon was already under investigation by the Medical Council for his comments at a Māori health expo in August, where he questioned “informed consent” for children and pregnant women around the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine.
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