Man whose wife won legal ruling dies one week after receiving ivermectin

A 52-year-old Pennsylvania man named Keith Smith — whose wife, Darla, had gone to court to have his COVID-19 infection treated with ivermectin — died on Sunday evening after his first dose of the anti-parasitic medication, according to a report by The York Daily Record.

Smith had been in an intensive care unit at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Memorial Hospital in York for three weeks while he battled COVID-19. Smith had been put into a medically-induced coma and was on a ventilator less than 2 weeks after he was diagnosed with coronavirus, reports the Daily Record.

York County Court Judge Clyde Vedder ruled on Dec. 3 that the hospital would not be compelled to treat Keith with ivermectin after Darla had implored the court, but that Darla could seek an independent doctor to treat Keith with the controversial drug, reports the Daily Record. 

After Keith received two doses of ivermectin, his condition deteriorated and the doctor stopped administering the medication. 

Keith died on Sunday night surrounded by his wife and their two sons.

Darla described her husband’s last moments on her website, “The man in that bed did not look like Keith. He was gaunt, with scabs on his cheeks from three weeks of torture, having that godforsaken vent attached to his face. He had a full beard and mustache. His hair had grown like a wild man.” 

Despite her frustration with the lawsuit, Darla still had positive words for UPMC, as she wrote, “I still love you. You cared for Keith for over 21 days. You dosed him with the medicines the doctors prescribed. You cleaned him and groomed him, moved him, propped him up, dealt with every mess, every smell, every trial. Everything. I appreciate you.”

Several hospitals throughout the country have continuously been hit with lawsuits demanding that they treat COVID-19 patients with ivermectin. 

Misinformation about ivermectin’s ability to treat coronavirus infections has circulated widely online in recent months. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that “ivermectin has not been authorized or approved for use in preventing or treating COVID-19 in humans or animals.”

The FDA also stated that “ivermectin is approved for human use to treat infections caused by some parasitic worms and head lice and skin conditions like rosacea.”