PA man with COVID dies after taking ivermectin, court allows drug use

Keith Smith, whose wife went to court to receive ivermectin to treat his COVID-19 infection, died Sunday night a week after receiving the first dose of the controversial drug.
Smith, who spent nearly three weeks in a Pennsylvania hospital, has been in the hospital’s intensive care unit since Nov. 21, in a coma on a drug-induced ventilator.He was diagnosed with the virus on November 10.
His wife of 24 years, Darla, went to court to force UPMC Memorial Hospital to treat her husband with ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug not yet approved to treat COVID-19.
York County Court Judge Clyde Vedder’s Dec. 3 decision did not force the hospital to treat Keith with the drug, but it did allow Darla to have an independent doctor to administer it.Before Keith’s condition worsened, he received two doses, and doctors stopped him.
Before: Woman wins court case with ivermectin to treat husband’s COVID-19That’s just the beginning.
“Tonight, around 7:45 p.m., my dear husband took his last breath,” Dara wrote on caringbridge.org.
He died at his bedside along with Dara and their two sons, Carter and Zach.Dara wrote that they had time to talk to Keith individually and as a group before Keith died.”My kids are strong,” she wrote.”They are my comfort stones.”
Darla is suing UPMC for treating her husband with ivermectin after reading similar cases across the country, all brought by a lawyer in Buffalo, N.Y.She was assisted by an organization called Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, which promotes treatment in the virus.
He received his first dose of the vaccine on December 5, two days after Vader made his decision in the court case.After Keith received the second dose, the doctor supervising the administration of the drug (a physician not affiliated with UPMC) discontinued treatment as Keith’s condition worsened.
Dara has written before that she’s not sure if ivermectin will help her husband, but it’s worth a try.The use of the drug, described as “Viva Mary”, was intended as a last-ditch effort to save Keith’s life.She would not say whether her husband was vaccinated.
She was angry at UPMC for refusing treatment, forcing her to file a lawsuit and delaying treatment for two days as the hospital struggled to deal with the implications of the court order, while Darla arranged for an independent nurse to administer the medication.UPMC has previously declined to disclose details of the case or Keith’s treatment, citing privacy laws.
She had a few nice words for the UPMC nurse, writing “I still love you”.She wrote: “You took care of Keith for over 21 days. You gave him the medicine prescribed by the doctor. You cleaned him, groomed him, moved him, supported him, dealt with every mess, every smell, every test. Everything. .I’m grateful to you.
“That’s all I have to say about UPMC right now,” she wrote.”You’re so lucky to have the nurse you made, idiot. Be kind to them.”
Whether the drug is effective in treating COVID-19 has not been proven, and studies cited by its proponents have been dismissed as biased and containing incomplete or non-existent data.
The drug has not been approved for use in the treatment of COVID-19 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, nor is it recommended by the National Institutes of Health.It is not included in UPMC’s COVID-19 treatment regimen.
A randomized clinical trial of ivermectin in Brazil earlier this year found no significant mortality benefit from taking the drug.
Ivermectin has been approved by the FDA to treat infections caused by certain parasites.Topical versions are used to treat skin conditions like head lice and rosacea.
Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been with Daily Record since 1982.Contact him at mike@ydr.com.