Judge won't force Delaware hospital to give ivermectin to COVID-19 patient

DOVER, Del. (AP) - A Delaware judge has refused to order a hospital to administer the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin to a man who is seriously ill with COVID-19.

Vice Chancellor Morgan Zurn said in a ruling issued Friday that patients, even if they are gravely ill, do not have a right to a particular medical treatment. She also said a health care provider’s duty to treat is bound by that provider’s standard of care.

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"While ivermectin has been approved as safe and effective to treat human parasitic infections, and so is distinct from a wholly unapproved new drug, DeMarco still has no right to compel its use to treat COVID-19 outside the standard of care," Zurn wrote.

A tablet of ivermectin arranged in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. (Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The ruling came one day after a hearing in a lawsuit filed last week by Mary Ellen DeMarco on behalf of her husband, David, against Christiana Care Health Services.

Despite refusing to issue an injunction sought by Mary Ellen DeMarco, Zurn indicated that she was prepared to quickly consider an application for an interlocutory appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court.