Durban community body dismisses social media post that it's distributing free Ivermectin as a 'hoax'

06 January 2021 - 12:52 By suthentira govender
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The Natal Memon Jamaat has warned the public that a social media post claiming it was distributing Ivermectin for free is fake. Stock photo.
The Natal Memon Jamaat has warned the public that a social media post claiming it was distributing Ivermectin for free is fake. Stock photo.
Image: 123RF/LEIGH ANNEF

A Durban organisation is investigating the source of an alleged hoax message claiming that it was distributing the controversial drug Ivermectin, which is being used to combat the transmission of Covid-19 in some quarters internationally.

The Natal Memon Jamaat (NMJ) community-based organisation issued a statement on its social media platforms warning the public that a message doing the rounds regarding the free distribution of the drug was a “hoax”.

The message, dismissed by the NMJ as fake, reads: “Please take note that tomorrow at NMJ hall in Morningside, there will be distribution at no charge of the Ivermectin tablets dosage only to Covid-positive patients who have paperwork attesting their health condition. Pass to friends and family.”

The NMJ said: “The board has no knowledge of any such distribution and there will be an investigation to find the source of this hoax message.

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”

Ivermectin, which was hailed as a revolutionary drug in the 1980s and works by paralysing and killing parasites including lice and worms in livestock, has been gaining traction as a “miracle cure” for Covid-19 patients.

But the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) prohibited the drug for human consumption on December 22 after it emerged on several social media platforms that the drug was being promoted on local groups as having “cured” people of Covid-19.

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