TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil on Friday shared his view about the recent popularity of the antiparasitic drug Ivermectin, which many claimed to be effective as COVID-19 treatment. He said it was not in his domain to speak about the drug’s use but insisted that the public needed to wait for further studies.

“I encourage people to refrain [from consuming Ivermectin] until an official decision has been made by the BPOM (Food and Drug Monitoring Agency),” he said in Bandung on June 1 to Bisnis.com. “Don’t be too euphoric, because lives are at stake.”

The governor reminded people not to be tempted by speculations and the hype from many news coverages regarding the drug. He added there were many West Java residents who recovered from COVID-19 after consuming alternative drugs available in the market that were officially recommended for the coronavirus.

The BPOM in an official statement announced that it would conduct a clinical research for the benefits and safety of Ivermectin in treating COVID-19 in Indonesia. The research will be carried out together with the Health Research and Development Agency, the Indonesian Health Ministry, and a number of appointed hospitals.

The BPOM also said it would follow up on its research with information updates from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other state health authorities. They warned the public that purchases of Ivermectin must be accompanied by a doctor’s prescription, both on online and offline platforms.

Read: COVID-19: Indofarma to Produce Ivermectin in July

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