PHILADELPHIA – Four in 10 Americans – and 7 in 10 heavy users of conservative media – say they would take ivermectin if they had been exposed to someone who has Covid-19, according to a new survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.
Although ivermectin is approved for use to treat parasitic roundworm infections in humans, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of this anti-parasitic drug to prevent or treat Covid-19, and studies of use of it for those purposes have been inconclusive. The FDA says current data "do not show ivermectin is effective against Covid-19" and using it for that purpose in humans or animals "can be highly dangerous." (See this story by FactCheck.org.)
"The finding that heavy consumers of conservative media are more likely to report a willingness to take ivermectin is consistent with our finding in the summer of 2020 that this audience was more likely to be willing to take hydroxychloroquine – which at the time was under study, and which the FDA later concluded was an ineffective treatment for hospitalized Covid patients, one whose risks outweigh its benefits," said APPC Director Kathleen Hall Jamieson.
The survey is the third wave of data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults that was empaneled in the spring of 2021. This wave of the survey, which was conducted in August and September among 1,669 respondents, finds that:
- Overall confidence that health authorities including Dr. Anthony Fauci are providing the public with trustworthy information about Covid-19 was largely unchanged from June to early September;
- Confidence in Fauci continues to be significantly lower among people who are heavier users of conservative media and very conservative media;
- Nearly 1 in 5 Americans (18%) say they are not likely to be vaccinated and over half of them – 10% of the total sample – say there is nothing that would change their mind;
- A quarter of respondents (25%) say they know someone, including themselves, who was fully vaccinated for Covid-19 and nonetheless tested positive for Covid-19 (a so-called breakthrough case); and
- Unvaccinated people are significantly more likely than vaccinated people to say they know a vaccinated person who experienced a breakthrough case of Covid-19.
"The evidence that those who are unvaccinated are more likely to report knowing a vaccinated person who experienced a breakthrough infection may indicate that the unvaccinated seek out evidence consistent with their vaccination hesitance or are more likely to live in under-vaccinated communities with higher ongoing spread of Covid-19 – or both phenomena may be at work," Jamieson said. "The public health community needs to remind the public that vaccinated individuals who do get breakthrough infections are far less likely to need hospitalization or to die from Covid than are the unvaccinated." (See additional details near end of release.)
The latest Annenberg Science Knowledge (ASK) survey was conducted among 1,669 U.S. adult respondents from August 16-September 5, 2021. Data were weighted to represent the target U.S. adult population. The margin of error is ± 3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The survey, conducted for the Annenberg Public Policy Center by SSRS, an independent research company, is a follow-up to June 2021 and April 2021 surveys fielded with the same respondents. See the Appendix for methodology, questions, and additional data.
Confusion over ivermectin
Conservative media personalities have long promoted the use of the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin to prevent or treat Covid-19. For example, in a show on March 8, 2021, Fox News' Laura Ingraham said: "And we know that our FDA has in many ways failed us by not allowing for the use of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, both of which are used around the world to reduce Covid hospitalizations and deaths."
Multiple large studies are assessing the use of the drug but at this point it is unapproved for Covid-19 by the FDA, which warns that its use can be dangerous.
Just 1 in 10 Americans (10%) say the statement "ivermectin is an effective treatment for Covid-19" is true, compared with 27% who say it is false. A majority of Americans (63%) say they are not sure whether that statement is true or not.
But when asked how likely they would be to take ivermectin if they had been exposed to someone with Covid-19 and the drug were available, 40% of Americans said they were somewhat or very likely to do so.
Ivermectin and media exposure
The survey asked respondents to describe their media use on a six-point scale, from 0 (none) to 5 (a lot of information). Respondents who gave a 4 or 5 to a type of media use are referred to here as heavy or heavier users. Our analysis of respondents' self-reported media exposure found that among people who said they are heavier users of…
- Very conservative sources such as Newsmax, One America News (OAN), Gateway Pundit, Parler or Telegram: 75% said they were likely to take ivermectin;
- Conservative media sources such as Fox News, Mark Levin, or Breitbart: 70% said they were likely to take ivermectin;
