The Law Office of Ralph C. Lorigo in the News

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Dan Herbeck

A judge ordered Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital last week to give a Covid-19 patient an experimental treatment, and her family and attorneys say theybelieve that saved So-year-old Judith Smentkiewicz's life.

The drug Ivermectin - a pill sometimes used to treat children with head lice or to rid dogs and cats of worms - is not yet approved by the federal government for use against Covid-19. But Smentkiewicz's son and daughter call it "a miracle drug" in their court papers.

So do her attorneys, Ralph C. Lorigo and Jon F. Minear.

"This lady was on a ventilator, literally on her deathbed, before she was given this drug," Lorigo told The Buffalo News about Smentkiewicz, a Cheektowaga resident. "As far as we're concerned, the judge's order saved this woman's life."

Lorigo said one doctor at the hospital allowed the patient to be given the drug, but after she had been given one dose, another doctor at the hospital refused to allow further doses. He said family members went to court to force the hospital to resume treatment with Ivermectin. State Supreme Court Judge Henry A. Nowak sided with them.

Dr. Thomas A. Russo, one of the region's leading experts on infectious diseases, said he was glad to hear that Smentkiewicz is doing better, but he said people should never jump to conclusions about Ivermectin or any other drug based on one patient's outcome.

"There are some indications that this drug may have some merit in treating Covid-19 ... Yes, it is possible that it helped this woman," Russo said. "But the trials and testing are ongoing. We don't have definitive data yet to show it does help. Presently, it is not recommended as a treatment for Covid-19."

Russo is the chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo's Jae •                                                                                                                                 

Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He has no involvement in the Smen, t , P w 11 1,. ;:i,::;p

The patient's son, Michael Smentkiewicz, said hospital officials had told him and his sister, Michelle Kulbacki, on Dec. 31that their mother's chance of survival - as an 80- year-old Covid-19 patient on a ventilator - was about 20%.

He said doctors at the hospital also told the family that Smentkiewicz would probably be on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit for at least a month.

"We did a lot of our own research, we read about Ivermectin ... The results sounded very promising, and we decided we had to try something different," Michael Smentkiewicz said. "We pressured the doctor in the ICU to give it to her . He finally agreed."

On Jan. 2, Smentkiewicz was given her first dose of Ivermectin, and according to court papers filed by her family, she made "a complete turnaround."

"In less than 48 hours, my mother was taken off the ventilator, transferred out of the Intensive Care Unit, sitting up on her own and communicating," Kulbacki said in a court affidavit .

But after her mother was transferred to another hospital wing away from the ICU, doctors in that unit refused to give her any more doses of the drug, and her condition quickly declined, the family said in court papers.

"We were astounded when they refused to give her any more doses," Michael Smentkiewicz said. "That's why I called Ralph Lorigo and we took the hospital to court."

Kaleida Health, which operates the hospital, opP,osed the family's reque. After judge orders hospital to use expt:Mil!ienlfal

Lorigo said Kaleida attorney Michael J. Roach argued to Judge Nowak tl,. ,_, and not the courts - should be making decisions about medical care.

                          
On Jan. 8, Nowak ordered the hospital to "immediately administer the drug Ivermectin" to Smentkiewicz, court papers show.

"But the judge also told us verbally that Judith's family doctor would have to write a prescription for Ivermectin, which he did," Lorigo said. "In 46 years as an attorney, I've never seen another case where a family had to get a court order to continue a treatment that had already been started by a hospital."

Michael P. Hughes, spokesman and chief of staff for Kaleida Health, said the health care company is "aware of this family's position," but he declined to discuss details because of federal privacy laws and because the case has become "a legal matter."

Roach, the hospital attorney, declined to comment, telling a reporter to call Hughes.

Michael Smentkiewicz said Thursday that his mother's condition has improved again since the Ivermectin treatments resumed.

"She called me (Wednesday) night. Her voice was raspy, but it was so exciting to hear her voice," he said. "She is sitting up in bed. She's off the ventilator, but she has a canula in her nose, providing supplemental oxygen."

He added that a doctor from the hospital told him Thursday that his mother appears to have "tur ned the corner" in her fight against the virus.

Michael Smentkiewicz said he also believes the power of prayer helped his mother.

"We have not been able to see her since she was taken to the hospital by ambulance on December 29, and that has been hard on all of us," he said. "Family flew in from all over the country to be here. On New Year's Eve, about eight of us held a little prayer service for her, out in the hospital parking lot. Even though we couldn't be with her, we felt that it was important to be on that property, praying for her."

Ivermectin has some passionate supporters in the medical field.I but the

After judge orders hospital to use exp f-ii11ienlfal

Drug Administration says the drug has not yet been approved for use in a Covid-19 treatment.

"While there are approved uses for Ivermectin in people and animals, it is not approved for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19," the federal agency says on its website. "You should not take any medicine to treat or prevent Covid-19 unless it has been prescribed to you by your health care provider and acquired from a legitimate source ... Additional testing is needed to determine whether Ivermectin might be appropriate to prevent or treat coronavirus or Covid-19."

Some doctors feel the government should move much more quickly to approve Ivermectin as a treatment for the virus that haskilled nearly 400,000 Americans.

Dr. Pierre Kory, who heads an association of critical care doctors, testified before Congress in December, asking federal agencies to prevent "needless deaths" by speeding up its testing and research on Ivermectin.

Smentkiewicz's family describes her as an "amazing woman," a retired secretary who raised two children as a single mother. They said she still works five days a week, cleaning houses.

Russo, who urges caution until the government gets more data about Ivermectin, said he "absolutely"understands why Smentkiewicz's family was so insistent that Kaleida doctors give her the drug.

"I think we all can understand where this family was coming from," Russo said. "From their point of view, desperate times call for desperate measures."

Dan Herbeck

News reporter, Watchdog Team

Doctors here experimenting with Covid drug despite FDA wariness 

Ivermectin appears to aid recovery while causing no harm

By Dan Herbeck

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

The medical director for seven Western New York skilled nursing facilities says he has been using Ive1mectin to help elderly patients fight Covid-19.

Dr. Paul Shields is not ready to call Ivermectin -which has not been approved as a Covid treatment by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration - a wonder drug.

But he believes it has helped 80 out of 90 of his patients recover at an Elde1wood nursing home for Cov1d-19 patients in Amherst.

"I am not trying to become the poster boy for Ivermectin. I'm not calling it a miracle drug. But it is part of the regimen of drugs we now use to treat Covid patients," Shields told The Buffalo News.

Shields and two other Buffalo- area physicians have used the inexpensive drug to treat more than 100 Covid patients.

Dr. Thomas Madejski, a former president of the New York State Medical Society, said he has also used Ivermectin as an effective treatment for Covid-19 patients in Erie, Niagara and Orleans counties.

And Dr. Zerline Snyderman, a medical director for the McGuire Group, told The News on Friday that McGuire has had success using the drug to treat Covid-19 patients at its Harris Hill Nursing Facility in Amherst, which specializes in coronavirus care.

The McGuire facility at Harris Hill and the Elde1wood facility in Amherst are two of the busiest Covid-19 treatment facilities in Western New York.

Ivermectin 1s a controversial drug in some circles, because the FDA has advised doctors against using it to treat coronav1rus, saying more testing is needed.

But some physicians are using Ivermectin as part of the arsenal of drugs to combat a virus that has killed more than 430,000 Americans. 

"I've been offering it to my Covid patients for three or four weeks now, with generally good results. I'm cautiously optimistic," said Madejski, who emphasized that he was speaking for himself and not as a representative of the state medical society. "I've given it to about a dozen patients. A couple of them, who were in the early stages of Covid, made remarkable progress. None of my patients have been hurt by See Ivermectin on Page A8.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center RNs Amanda Martin, left, and Patricia Palacios, center, and patient care assistant Samantha Zilm say that staff shortages impact their ability to deliver quality care. Photos by Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News 

FDA says more study is needed to verify drug's effectiveness

IVERMECTIN • from Al it. The side effects are benign." 

Of his experience using Ivermectin at the Elde1wood nursing home, Shields said, "Since December, we've given it to 90 patients at the Covid unit in Amherst, with the consent of the patients or their families. Eighty of them are still with us. It does appear to be helping our patients. It's not harming them. We haven't had one patient suffer harmful side effects."

Discovered in the late 1970s, Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug that has been used to treat hundreds of millions of people all over the world for head lice, skin rashes and parasitic worms. It is also used to treat dogs, cats and livestock.

While it approves Ivermectin for those uses, the FDA-the agency that regulates drugs in America - has repeatedly urged against using Ivermectin pills as a coronavirus treatment, saying more scientific study is needed to verify its effectiveness.

The National Institutes of Health, a federal research agency that helps determine national health policies, last year recommended against Ivermectin as a Covid treatment, but changed its position on Jan. 14 of this year. NIH says it no longer advises for or against using Ive1mectin to treat Covid. The NIH said doctors and patients should make their own decisions. 

Meanwhile, advocates for Ivermectin say it has saved many thousands of lives in other countries, such as Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Egypt and parts of India.

"There are 54 studies underway all over the world, and many of the preliminary results have been very positive,"said Dr. Pierre Kory, a critical care doctor from Wisconsin who has been imploring the federal government to recognize Ivermectin as a Covid-19 treatment.

"A growing number of hospitals and nursing care facilities are using it. I am sure Ivermectin will eventually be recognized worldwide as a Covid treatment. The question I can't answer is, 'When?'" Kory said.

Western New York became a focal point of the Ivermectin debate in recent weeks, after state judges ordered two hospitals to give Ive1mectin to two Covid-19 patients who were doing poorly. Their families demanded the hospitals t1y the drug.

Attorneys Ralph C. Lorigo and Jon F.Minear said the two women - Judith Smentkiewicz, an 80-year­old from Cheektowaga, and Glenna Dickinson, a 65-year-old from Albion -have improved with the help of Ivermectin.

"This past week, we've had calls from people in Australia, California and the United Kingdom, people asking us to help their family members get treated with Ivermectin," Lorigo said.

But government experts say more study is needed to prove Ivermectin is a dependable treatment for Covid-19. The World Health Organization said it, too, is waiting for results of more studies.

Who would be in line to make huge profits if Ivermectin was recognized worldwide as a Covid treatment? Nobody, according to Lorigo, who has done some legal research on the drug. 

"The patent for Ivermectin ran out in 1996, so just about any drug company can make it now, cheaply," Lorigo said. "One of my clients bought it in Rochester the other day for 83 cents a pill. Right now, there is ve1y little profit motive for the big drug companies to sell Ivermectin."

Kory is one of the founding members of the Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance, a nonprofit seeking better care for Covid patients. In his view, the U.S. government is being too cautious in its evaluation of Ivermectin. He believes one reason for that caution is the controversy that erupted last year over hydroxychloroquine, a drug that was championed by former President Donald J. Trump as a virus cure.

"We're at war with Covid-19," Kory told The News. "While our government delays, people are dying and case numbers are rising." 

Dr. Thomas Madejski, former president of the New York Medical Society, said he has used Ivermectin as an effective treatment for Covid-19. Derek Gee/Buffalo News 

Ivermectin goes to court again, Kory Count Reaches 170,000 

By Justus R. Hope

Jan 28, 2021

Since the NIH adjusted its guidance on ivermectin to neutral on January 6th, another 63,822 souls have perished, and based upon the evidence produced by Dr. Andrew Hill of the WHO, some 83 percent or precisely 52,972 deaths could have been prevented had the NIH instead revised this guidance to recommend or Emergency Use Authorization.

We are looking at so many preventable deaths that I share Dr. Pierre Kory's disgust. Dr. Kory announced to the Senate on December 8th, 2020, that any further deaths are needless because ivermectin's benefits are now well known. I keep track of the Kory Count out of reverence to the dead and to keep it known that these deaths were preventable.

The court case where Judith Smentkiewicz's son had to hire an attorney and get an injunction to force the hospital to provide her ivermectin underscores the problem our country now faces. My patients and their families all enjoy the protection of ivermectin because my practice includes education and access.

About 1 O percent of other physicians do the same for their patients. The vast majority of doctors do not, and their patients face COVID-19 alone or with research done by family members like Judith Smentkiewicz's son. She was lucky to survive, and one can read her story in "Ivermectin Goes to Court."

Her attorney, Ralph Lorigo, saved her life.

It is not every day that an attorney can save a life, but Mr. Lorigo did when he obtained a court order for the hospital to administer ivermectin to Ms. Smentkiewicz. She was a single mother who went above and beyond to raise her two children by herself. She worked as a secretary and later cleaned houses four days a week so her children could survive. Her son repaid the favor when the ICU physician told him his mother would probably die. At age 80 and on a ventilator with COVID, her chances were 80 percent that the virus would take her life. But her son also went above and beyond, and he found an article that suggested ivermectin could help her, and the rest is history. 

Of course, the naysayers will argue that this was anecdotal at best. And that it did not prove that ivermectin works. However, the pesky proverbial fly in the ointment is that it happened a second time to Glenda Dickinson, and the same lawyer, Ralph Lorigo, decided to help her family. He went to court and got a second judge to issue a court order to force the hospital to administer the ivermectin, and she also got better.

So in who's Brave New World are we now living where rich big pharmaceutical companies call the shots, and doctors and regulators can be bought. You and I are expendable resources in a society where the truth and morals no longer matter.

I now update the Kory Count in the hopes that my message may, by some miracle, escape the bonds of censorship and that somehow it may find its audience of Americans who may decide to get a court-order for the nation, to allow doctors everywhere to prescribed cheap repurposed drugs for COVID-19 before we lose half-a-million more lives.

The Kory Count of Preventable Deaths is Today Updated:

Beginning Kory Count November 19 through January 15: 140,139

Current Kory Count of Preventable COVID-19 Deaths: 170,809

After experimental Covid treatment, woman, So, is thankful to be home 

By Dan Herbeck

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

As Judith Smentkiewicz fought for her life in a local hospital last month, she had no idea that her struggle with Covid-19 was the subject of a heated court battle and stories in the news media.

Until a few days ago, the 80-year-old woman was unaware that her family's lawyers had obtained a cou1t order enabling her to receive doses of Ivermectin, a drug that has not yet been approved by the federal government as a Covid-19 treatment.

Now that she's back at her Cheektowaga home and well on the road to recovery, Smentkiewicz is amazed at everything that happened to her.

"I had no idea that any of this was going on,"Smentkiewicz told The

lives in Cheektowaga and battled Covid-19, is well on the road to recovery. She said she is amazed at everything that happened to her.

who

John Hickey/Buffalo News

Buffalo News in an interview.

"My son and daughter didn't tell me the whole story until I got home. They just wanted me to take care of myself and get better."

Smentkiewicz said she has See Treatment on Page A6

Judith Smentkiewicz,

Woman eager to return to volunteering 

TREATMENT • from A1 "absolutely no memory" of a five-day period when she was on a ventilator at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital. According to family members, doctors there told them that her chances of survival were about 20%.

"I remember being taken to the hospital in an ambulance on Dec. 31, and being put on a stretcher in a hallway," Smentkiewicz said. "I know they put me on the ventilator that day, but I don't remember a single thing that happened until Jan. 4, when I was taken off the ventilator and able to sit up in my bed. I'm kind of glad I don't remember those days."

She now knows that her son, Michael, and daughter, Michelle Kulbacki, insisted that doctors give Smentkiewicz Ivermectin, a drug that has helped Covid-19 patients in other countries but has not yet been approved as a Covid- 19 treatment in the U.S.

She also realizes that, when doctors were reluctant to give her more than one dose of the drug, her son and daughter hired attorneys Ralph C. Lorigo and Jon F. Minear to get a court order that enabled her to get more doses.

On Jan. 8, State Supreme Court Justice Henry J. Nowak ordered the hospital to resume treatment with Ivermectin. After that, Smentkiewicz made a strong recovery. She was able to leave the hospital in mid-Janua1y.

She then spent a month in the Harris Hill Nursing Facility in Amherst, and on Tuesday, she returned home.

"I am so appreciative of my family, the lawyers, the judge, the doctors and all these people who were praying for me and fighting for me," said Smentkiewicz, speaking to a reporter in a strong, clear voice. "I know I had a lot of prayer warriors on my side."

Smentkiewicz said she got "ve1y good" care in the hospital and nursing home, and now feels she is "at about 85%" of where she was before she caught the virus.

"I'm eating, walking, exercising, getting myself dressed and making my own bed, getting back to normal life little by little," she said. "I feel good, but I get out of breath if I try to do too much. I'm having a little trouble with balance, and doing physical therapy twice a week."

For years, she has been active as a volunteer at the Chapel in Cheektowaga, where she babysits young children while their parents attend Sunday services.

Smentkiewicz said she is anxious to get back to that, and also wants to expand her volunteer activities.

"One thing I saw in the nursing home was so many elderly people who just wanted someone to come in, help them open their mail and talk with them for a while," she said. "I think I would like to go in as a volunteer and visit with people who need that."

She added that the publicity about her case will encourage families of suffering Covid- 19 patients to research the possibility of using Ivermectin to treat them.

A drug traditionally used to treat people and animals suffering with parasitic worms, Ivermectin is a controversial Covid-19 treatment.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration advises doctors against using it to treat coronavirus, saying more testing is needed. The FDA said that the drug needs to go through standard clinical trials before it can be approved as a Covid- 19 treatment. The company that developed Ivermectin has also cautioned that more study is needed.

The effectiveness of a drug cannot be judged based on positive results for one patient, said Dr. Thomas

"While she was on the ventilator, we prayed for Mom. We prayed to God, and the answer that came back to us was Ivermectin," Kulbacki said. "My brother was doing some research on his own and came up with the information about Ivermectin. Nothing else was helping our mother. We read that Ivermectin was helping other people and had no dangerous side effects. We decided we had to try it."

Kulbacki said her mother made "a complete turnaround" within days of her first doses of Ivermectin.

A. Russo, chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo's Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

The National Institutes of Health, a federal research agency that helps determine national policies on medical care, does not advise for or against using Ivermectin as a Covid-19 treatment, saying doctors and patients should make their own decisions.

But a growing number of American physicians - including some in Western New York - are offering their patients Ivermectin to combat the virus.

A nonprofit organization of doctors, the Frontline Covid- 19 Critical Care Alliance, has been urging the federal government to speed up its testing of Ivermectin.

Doctors recently told The News that Ivermectin has helped many patients at two of the region's busiest Covid-19 treatment centers - the Elderwood Health Care facility in Amherst and the McGuire Group's Harris Hill facility.

Dr. Thomas Madejski, a former president of the New York State Medical Society, said he has also used Ivermectin as an effective treatment for Covid-19 patients in Erie, Niagara and Orleans counties.

"It has very benign side effects, and that is one reason I have been offering it to patients," said Madejski, who said he was speaking only for himself, and not for the state medical society.

Smentkiewicz said she has no way of knowing if lvermectin is a miracle drug. She said she is thankful she did not become one of the nearly 500,000 Americans killed by Covid-19. 

"I can't say it will help eve1yone, but I definitely believe it helped me, with no side effects," Smentkiewicz said.

"I feel that God kept me around for a reason. He had a plan for me," she added. "I believe that part of that plan is to get people to take a closer look at Ivermectin."

Judith Smentkiewicz with her daughter, Michelle Kulbacki, and her· two dogs, Kallie, left, and Mylie. John Hickey/Buf 

American Hero: Ralph C. Lorigo Fights for Client Rights Including Access to lvermectin for COVID-19 Patients At Risk

TrialSite Staff

April 14, 2021 

TrialSite's founder Daniel O'Connor was able to briefly catch up with Ralph LorigQ, prominent advocate for patient's rights and successful New York State attorney and partner of the Law Office of Ralph Lorigo. TrialSite has showcased a number of his recent legal victories targeting hospitals that refuse to give patients and their doctors requesting ivermectin to treat COVJD-19. Lorigo has become a sort of national figure, leading the charge in representing patients and their families in the quest to access ivermectin. The dynamic attorney and conservative party representative believes that the drug has clearly demonstrated benefits with over 50 clinical trials. TrialSite has received several requests to invite Mr. Lorigo on to the TrialSite Podcast show, which he has agreed to accommodate out of his busy schedule. Lorigo's ivermectin-based case load continues to grow as the word gets out about his notable legal prowess and importantly, his results. His command of the Jaw, American constitutional rights and the unfolding dynamics involving COVJD-19, ubcuding the suppression of information involving potential treatments, makes him an important figure in America today.

Conviction & Advocacy for Patients' Rights

The Law Office of Ralph Lorigo now takes on more cases as the word gets out that this drug, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for other indications, appears to work off­label targeting COVID-19. Although the FDA has issued cautionary statements, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the new year took a more neutral stance to the drug, changing their recommendation from recommending only for research to neutral, to recommending for or against. 

Explore Further

Mr. Lorigo told O'Connor that his firm is receiving ever more inquiries and cases where family members have loved ones in the hospital and they seek to access the drug off label. Lorigo shared with TrialSite that once doctors learn of all of the studies around the world, and start doing their own home work, they become more open minded, factoring in the risk-reward analysis. 

Especially if elderly high risk patients present advanced COVID-19, Lorigo has personally seen the drug potentially contribute to saving the lives of clients. Interestingly, the attorney reports that it would appear that hospital administrations are the most recalcitrant to the idea, even if the patients and the ICU doctor are in support. It's as if the COVID-19 wings of all hospitals are completely opposed to any suggestion of this particular medication. In the age of COVID-19, the COVID-19 wing is sort of a "federalized" operation.

Now his practice is expanding as cases as far away as Arkansas call the law Office of Ralph Lorigo. A New York State native, Lorigo is now in his early 70s but looks decades younger and works tirelessly on multiple causes from the ongoing management of his law firm and the growing number of intense, contentious COVID-19 patient cases to his representation in politics as the Erie County Conservative chairman and state vice chairman.

Involved in standing for and representing patriotic American values for many decades, his concern for constitutional freedoms and all people is clearly palpable. Lorigo and O'Connor discussed joint concerns for deep-rooted American legal values that appear under risk of late.

On the recent Swanson case reported on bY. TrialSite, Lorigo reported the good news that he was able to secure visitation for wife Sandra-a great win! Now he must combat the hospital to follow through on the requirement that they share all medical information with the family. 

They've resisted the court ruling on that point thus far. On drugs, power and politics, Lorigo, definitely one to embrace free markets and the importance of business, shares that unfortunately big drug companies profits could be challenged by such a cheap drug like ivermectin. The drug literally can cost under one dollar per pill.

About the Law Offices of Ralph C. Lorigo

Ralph C. Lorigo has built a compelling reputation for integrity, professionalism and results over the past thirty five years. With several attorneys on staff, the Law Office of Ralph Lorigo has helped thousands of clients over the years over a vast array of legal matters across a range of legal specialty areas, including Medicaid and health-related issues.

Call to Action: TrialSite's excited to report that Ralph Lorigo will be participating on the TrialSite Podcast show soon. TrialSite suggests if there is a loved one with COVID-19 and you seek legal opinions, consider contacting the Law Office of Ralph Lorigo here.

Ivermectin for the World 

by Justus R. Hope, MD

May 10, 2021

U.S. Supreme Court

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus two issues: the human right to access a life­saving drug and a physician's right to exercise his Hippocratic Oath. Accordingly, the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) today called for the "Immediate and Global Use of Ivermectin to End the COVID-19 Pandemic."

The release stated, "Our latest research shows, once again, that when the totality of the evidence is examined, there is no doubt that Ivermectin is highly effective as a safe prophylaxis and treatment for COVID-19," said Paul E. Marik, MD, FCCM, FCCP, founding member of the FLCCC and Chief, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School."

Dr. Marik continued, "We can no longer rely on many of the larger health authorities to make an honest examination of the medical and scientific evidence. So, we are calling on regional public health authorities and medical professionals around the world to demand that Ivermectin be included in their standard of care right away so we can end this pandemic, once and for all."

With growing evidence of the corruption of public health authorities, there are louder calls for medical professionals to exercise their Hippocratic Oath and do what is best for patients - even if this means risking their careers. This moral imperative was described in vivid detail in the just­released book, Ivermectin for the World.

The book brings to life the underground movement by the world's leading physicians to get the truth out against all odds and the David v Goliath battle to save the world with Ivermectin. Each day new stories emerge.

One example in Elmhurst, Illinois, is representative of today's choice for physicians. Patient Nurijie Fype, a 68-year-old woman who is comatose with COVID-19, rests near death in the ICU on a ventilator. Her family has requested she be given Ivermectin, and the hospital has opposed this.

In an Orwellian stance, the hospital has opposed her right to receive the drug and fought a court order to give the medication. After a three-day delay, the hospital argued they could not find a physician willing to administer it. The hospital attorney reported in a hearing that 20 physicians and 19 other health care workers had refused to administer the drug. However, not mentioned in court papers were the pressures exerted by the hospital to deter these professionals.

Dr. Alan Bain, a Chicago Internal Medicine Specialist, was granted temporary privileges at the hospital, and he administered the Ivermectin. It seems Dr. Bain was the only physician willing to stand up to the hospital and place the patient's interest first. 

Dr. Bain is a member of the C19 group, a collection of professionals that champion the use of repurposed drugs for COVID-19. Dr. George Fareed, Dr. Peter McCullough, and Dr. Harvey Risch were instrumental in the movement. In November, the trio testified at the US Senate about the effectiveness of cocktails combining Ivermectin with HCQ and nutraceuticals, including Zinc and Vitamin D3.

Early in the pandemic, the triple therapy of HCQ, Zinc, and Azithromycin proved lifesaving, as shown by Dr. Vladimir Zelenko of New York. Likewise, Dr. Fareed's dynamic associate, Dr. Brian Tyson, used this cocktail therapy to save all 1,900 of his COVID-19 patients in the Imperial Valley even when the authorities threatened him, advising him to stop.

Both Dr. Bain and Dr. Tyson stand tall as heroes in this pandemic as physicians willing to defy the FDA in their quest to save their patients and follow their Hippocratic Oaths. Yet, unfortunately, the FDA recommends against Ivermectin for COVID-19 despite some 53 studies showing it can reduce death by up to 91 percent.

However, the sacred oath requires physicians to do what is in the best interests of their patients, and sometimes this conflicts with politically-driven public health agency guidelines.

The FDA can and does influence off-label prescribing within hospitals. Such influence, many doctors feel, is at the behest of pharmaceutical corporations that prefer more expensive FDA-approved drugs. However, outspoken experts feel this compromises patient care by blocking access to more effective and safer off-label drugs, especially in the case of Ivermectin for COVID.

The FLCCC and many leading researchers feel the evidence is clear that Ivermectin is safe, cheap, and lifesaving. Large magnitude and reproducible studies confirm that Ivermectin is associated with substantial reductions in death. In addition, the FLCCC and many other academics know beyond any doubt that Ivermectin is more effective in late-stage COVID than the FDA's choice, Remdesivir, with a price tag of $3,100, a drug the evidence shows does not reduce mortality. Ivermectin, on the other hand, saves lives, even in those patients near death, resting on ventilators, yet it costs only pennies.

The last three COVID clients that Ralph C. Lorigo, Fype's attorney, has represented all won court orders for Ivermectin and all recovered from ventilators after being administered the drug.

The scenario with Nurijie Fype is symptomatic of a greater ill than COVID. It is an epidemic of corruption at the highest levels in our society. Big Pharma and their regulators in public health control the hospitals and rule with an iron fist. Tragically, this epidemic of greed has crept into the fabric of medicine, and it now stands between the patient and physician.

In Fype's case, the attending physician expressed fear that prescribing Ivermectin against the hospital's legal position might jeopardize his license. When a patient has to hire a lawyer and sue their hospital to gain access to a safe and lifesaving, off-label drug, we know that our medical system is sick. And when we find this occurring in different countries on other continents, it, like COVID-19, must be declared a pandemic.

But the treatment for this is not a fancy, patent-protected, and experimental vaccine. Instead, it once again amounts to a traditional off-label solution proven to treat such conditions effectively. Moreover, it involves a constitutional right, straight out of the 5th Amendment - the right to life and liberty. The prerogative to try a life-saving drug is a fundamental human right. We must elevate the Right-to-Try Act to a formal constitutional mandate. Very soon, we will likely see old-fashioned remedies used to end both pandemics - Ivermectin for one and the US Supreme Court for the other.