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Joe Rogan slams CNN's coverage about him taking ivermectin to treat COVID: 'They’re making sh*t up'

Podcaster Joe Rogan slammed CNN and other critics questioning his use of various drugs, including ivermectin, to treat COVID.

Last week, Rogan revealed he had tested positive for the virus and claimed to have gotten better after taking a Z-Pak antibiotic, prednisolone and ivermectin, a drug that is sometimes used to treat parasitic worm infections in humans and livestock.

Joe Rogan is not happy with how CNN and other outlets are covering his use of ivermectin to treat COVID. ( AP Photo/Gregory Payan)
Joe Rogan is not happy with how CNN and other outlets are covering his use of ivermectin to treat COVID. ( AP Photo/Gregory Payan)

Media outlets were quick to cover Rogan’s announcement, warning against the use of such medications to treat COVID, which clearly didn't make Rogan happy.

“Bro, do I have to sue CNN?” Rogan asked guest Tom Segura during a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. “They’re making shit up. They keep saying I’m taking horse dewormer. I literally got it from a doctor. It’s an American company. They won the Nobel Prize in 2015 for use in human beings and CNN is saying I’m taking horse dewormer. They must know that’s a lie.”

"A lot of people can say it," he said of the criticism. "The internet can say it and who cares, but CNN is saying it — like Jim Acosta."

“What they didn’t highlight is that I got better,” he added. “They try to make it seem as if I’m doing some wacky sh*t that’s completely ineffective. CNN was saying I’m a distributor of misinformation.”

To back his claim, Rogan cited online articles suggesting that a chairman from the Tokyo Medical Association — which has no affiliation with the Japanese government or its health agency, as fact-checked by AFP — recommended ivermectin to “all doctors for all COVID patients.”

Rogan also suggested that his experience may be part of what he calls a “grand conspiracy.”

“There’s a lot of speculation,” he explained to Segura. “One of the speculations involves the emergency use authorization for the vaccine — that in order for there to be an emergency use authorization there has to be no treatment for the disease. So, because there is this treatment in ivermectin, and there are other treatments too, but because of this there’s a lot of pushback against the potential treatments and pretending that they don’t really work or that they’re conspiracy theories. This is the grand conspiracy, right? The grand conspiracy is that the pharmaceutical companies are all in cahoots to try and make anybody who takes this stuff look crazy.”

This week, the American Medical Association and two pharmacist groups appealed for an “immediate end” to the drug’s use outside of research.

“We are urging physicians, pharmacists, and other prescribers — trusted healthcare professionals in their communities — to warn patients against the use of ivermectin outside of FDA-approved indications and guidance,” the statement read.

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration gave a clear to those who are considering taking ivermectin to treat COVID: “Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”

“For one thing, animal drugs are often highly concentrated because they are used for large animals like horses and cows, which can weigh a lot more than we do — a ton or more,” the statement explained. “Such high doses can be highly toxic in humans. Many inactive ingredients found in animal products aren’t evaluated for use in people. Or they are included in much greater quantity than those used in people. In some cases, we don’t know how those inactive ingredients will affect how ivermectin is absorbed in the human body."

“The most effective ways to limit the spread of COVID-19 include getting a COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to you and following current CDC guidance," the FDA said,

Regarding Rogan's claim that the drug has been approved for human use, the FDA clarifies that it "has not authorized or approved ivermectin for use in preventing or treating COVID-19 in humans or animals."

Further, it explains, "Certain animal formulations of ivermectin such as pour-on, injectable, paste, and 'drench,' are approved in the U.S. to treat or prevent parasites in animals. For humans, ivermectin tablets are approved at very specific doses to treat some parasitic worms, and there are topical (on the skin) formulations for head lice and skin conditions like rosacea." Still, the statement notes, "the FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical attention, including hospitalization, after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for livestock."