Despite concerns among health experts about safety, misinformation, and self-medication risks, four other states [including Arkansas and Louisiana] have expanded access for the over-the-counter (OTC) sale of ivermectin. Texas will join that list of states on December 4, 2025. That’s thanks to new legislation that Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law this week. As the Texas Newsroom reports, in the United States the anti-parasite medication is traditionally used for livestock. But during the pandemic, ivermectin was controversially touted as an alternative treatment for COVID-19...A change that concerned researchers and health organizations around the world, who say ivermectin doesn’t help with COVID — and can be dangerous for humans.
Still, During the 2025 Second Called Session of the [89th] Texas Legislature, on August 28, 2025, lawmakers approved House Bill 25, making it easier to get ivermectin without a prescription. The bill’s author is Rep. Joanne Shofner. The East Texas Republican represents the people of Texas House District 11, which includes, Nacogdoches, Newton, Panola, Rusk, Sabine and Shelby Counties. Earlier this summer she stood firmly behind the measure. “Unfortunately, it was very, very politicized as mentioned earlier as a horse drug, etcetera, which is, so demeaning to the people around the world who are dependent on this drug for survival in developing countries. They use it regularly.” The bill was one of 13 signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott this Wednesday, September 17, 2025. For Rep. Shofner, much of her effort came down to the importance of access for all the people of Texas. She said as much during debate over her bill back on August 27th, while speaking on the Texas State House floor. “It’s absolutely important for our rural communities – and there’s a lot of people in urban communities that are not able to get to their doctor – that they have more access to their pharmacist than they would their health care practitioner.”
Independent health policy research and polling firm KFF released some recent insights derived from their polling from 2023. KFF Researchers reportedly found that about half (48%) of the public has heard the as-yet-scientifically proven claim that ivermectin is an effective treatment for COVID-19. Their polling results also reveal that while few adults overall say they think this myth is definitely true (6%), seven in ten express uncertainty, saying it is either “probably true” (26%) or “probably false” (44%). And in this age of extreme political polarization, researchers also discovered notable partisan differences when it comes to believing or leaning toward believing unproven claims. Nearly half (48%) of Republicans say it is either “definitely true” or “probably true” that ivermectin is an effective treatment for COVID-19, compared to about three in ten independents (28%) and one in five Democrats (18%).
