EMPLOYERS can be held liable if employees are forced to take the veterinary drug ivermectin for Covid-19 infection, a lawyer said.

Workers can also take legal action against bosses if they develop side effects, even after signing a consent form to take the drug, because Ivermectin has not been approved by the country’s pharmaceutical regulators for use against Covid-19, lawyer Ng Geok Chee said.

“Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), employers have the responsibility to protect the safety and health of their employees, but they cannot force them to take any drug.

“Employees can take legal action. Under health-related laws and regulations, even if the employee has signed a consent form saying that the employer will not be burdened with legal responsibility, it won’t exempt the boss from facing legal responsibility,” Ng told The Malaysian Insight.

A signed consent form in this case can be invalidated because Ivermectin has not been approved for use against Covid-19 by health authorities, Ng said. 

“Even after signing the consent form, if an injury is caused, the employee can still sue (the employer) as well as file a complaint with the Health Ministry or other relevant departments, or file a civil suit to recover compensation for the bodily injury,” she said.

A tissue paper manufacturer in Subang, Selangor was recently accused of making its workers take the anti-parasitic drug for animals comes. The company has denied the claims while the worker who made the complaint has resigned.

In some circles, ivermectin is touted as a miracle drug against Covid-19, despite little scientific evidence and the Health Ministry’s warning against it.

The ministry is currently in the midst of trialing ivermectin on high-risk Covid-19 patients and has said the drug should not be used to treat coronavirus infections until more data is available.

Ng said any drug needs the approval of the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) for use.

Employers have no medical authority, have no power to compel workers to take an unapproved drug, Ng added.

And forcing workers to take a drug is a violation of personal rights.

Ng said had the company not forced it and only made ivermectin available to the employees then the responsibility would have fallen on the employees.

A social media user @lelakiserigala posted on Twitter earlier this month that his sister was forced to take ivermectin in front of her boss after she diagnosed as Covid-19 positive.

According to a screenshot of a family conversation, his sister said all workers were ordered to take vitamin D3, zinc-complex and ivermectin.

Although the manufacturing company has denied the incident, the fact that ivermectin is being pushed as a Covid-19 treatment without regulatory approval us a matter of concern..

Another lawyer, Gan Peng Sieu, said even if ivermectin is approved by the Health Ministry as a Covid-19 treatment, it still doesn’t allow employers to impose the drug on workers.

“Even if you are given vitamins, you can refuse. No law grants such power. What more when ivermectin has not been approved, when the clinical trials have not been completed, and the Health Ministry has not confirmed it as an effective drug (against Covid-19),” Gan said.

Health experts warn against ivermectin as Covid-19 treatment

Associate Professor Dr Moy Foong Ming at Universiti Malaya’s department of social and preventive medicine warned the public that consuming ivermectin can have side effects.

“Some people claim it can prevent the coronavirus. This is unacceptable,” Moy said.

She is aware of various groups advocating the use of ivermectin on Covid-19 patients, adding that they are active and persuasive.

“People may be feeling disappointed, and they don’t know what to do, they want to save themselves but this may have side effects,” Moy said in explaining why arguments on Ivermectin use have managed to persuade many even without scientific basis.

She added that although some clinical trials on the drug have yielded results, there has been contradictory data.

There is currently insufficient data to support the effectiveness of ivermectin as a drug to treat Covid-19 patients, Moy stressed.

Neither the Health Ministry, the World Health Organization or the US Food and Drug Administration  have indicated that the drug will be used for the treatment and control of coronavirus infection.

Moy expressed concern for the increasing number of people on the market getting ivermectin while the Health Ministry had written to pharmacies and private clinics not to allow the sale of the drug.

“If it is to be shipped in from a foreign country, it can only be used for clinical trials, other uses are illegal,” she said.

Former deputy health minister Lee Boon Chye said that iIvermectin is only approved for use on animals. It is listed under the Malaysian Poisons Act and is not to be prescribed to human patients.

“From a medical point of view, huge data analysis is needed to judge whether a drug is effective, large-scale clinical trials are required.

“If we say, some people have taken it and are alright, that’s not enough; we need to know that 95% of patients with coronavirus took it and are okay.

“There must also be sufficient scientific evidence to prove that recovery is due to the drug and not another effect,” Lee added.

A major study on ivermectin as a Covid-19 treatment was withdrawn recently after “ethical concerns” and other irregularities were discovered. – August 18, 2021.