Federal Appeals Court Rules FDA Overstepped Its Authority Telling People to "STOP" Taking Ivermectin for Treatment of Covid-19

On September 1, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for the Southern District of Texas ruled in favour of three doctors who were suing the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its messaging to citizens to 'stop' taking ivermectin for the treatment of Covid-19.

The doctors' lawsuit involved the FDA posting on social media about Ivermectin and advising people not to take it for the treatment of Covid-19. However, the central argument in the case revolved around a specific social media post in which the FDA stated, “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it,” along with a link to the FDA website titled “Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19.” This post gained widespread attention across social and mainstream media.

The three doctors wrote in their lawsuit that they have “prescribed the human version of ivermectin to thousands of patients suffering from the coronavirus.” The doctors alleged that the social media posts interfered with their individual “ability to exercise professional medical judgment in practicing medicine.” The doctors also allege that the posts harmed their reputations.

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Brown had previously ruled against the doctors in 2022, claiming that there was no evidence the FDA acted outside of its authority within the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

The federal appeals court concluded their ruling with the statement that, “FDA is not a physician. It has authority to inform, announce, and apprise—but not to endorse, denounce, or advise.” The court went on to assert that “The Doctors have plausibly alleged that FDA’s Posts fell on the wrong side of the line between telling about and telling to. As such, the Doctors can use the APA to assert their ultra vires claims against the Agencies and the Officials.” Lastly, the ruling declared, “Even tweet-sized doses of personalized medical advice are beyond FDA’s statutory authority. We REVERSE the district court’s judgment of dismissal, and we REMAND for further proceedings.”