Big News: It Looks Like Anti-Vaxxers Have Found Their New Ivermectin And — Surprise Surprise — It’s Viagra

We’re two years into a once-in-a-century public health crisis, but there’s good news: Since last spring, there’s been a free, effective, and widely available vaccine that can greatly alleviate the symptoms. And yet hospitalizations and deaths continue to be high. Why? Because a large chunk of the nation refuses to take it. Instead, they’ve glommed onto “miracle cures” like Ivermectin or massive, expensive cocktails most people couldn’t afford. But it appears horse de-wormers are so last year.

On Friday, Tucker Carlson, regular peddler of COVID misinformation that endangers his viewers’ lives, dedicated a segment to a potential new COVID treatment, and it just happens to be arguably the most famous pill in the world. That’s right, it looks like anti-vaxxers are about to go all-in on Viagra.

The right have seized upon a story from the U.K. (as caught by The New York Post), where Monica Almeida — a nurse and asthma sufferer who was fully vaccinated and an asthma sufferer — was awoken from 28-day coma after doctors gave her the medication intended to correct erectile dysfunction in men. She was 72 hours from being taken off her ventilator, but after being given a “large dose” of Viagra, her airways opened and she came to.

“It was definitely the Viagra that saved me. Within 48 hours it opened up my airwaves and my lungs started to respond,” Almeida, who works as a respiratory specialist, told the Sun. “If you think how the drug works, it expands your blood vessels. I have asthma and my air sacs needed a little help.”

Almeida was discharged on Christmas Eve, but she has a long road to full recovery. She says she’s still “weak and fragile,” and though mentally she’s “as good as ever,” she does get “a bit teary and frustrated at times.”

Is this incredible news? Yes. Should a single, involving an imunocompromised woman who was already vaxxed, be applied to absolutely everyone, including the un-vaxxed? Probably not. But when Almeida’s story crossed the pond, it was of course it seized upon by those who’ve spread COVID misinformation. On Friday, Carlson brought on Dr. Marc Singel to sing the praises of a drug that helps men get erections.

“Who thought Viagra would save us from the pandemic?” crowed Carlson, though his guest was slightly more apprehensive. Singel pointed out that Viagra is “not just used for what you think it’s used for,” that it also “treats lung problems and improves blood flow.” But his optimism was laced with caution, admitting this is all “the beginning of something” and that more research is needed.

Carlson, though, seemed to be already convinced, saying, “You’re saying if you take a massive dose of Viagra, you wake up. So I think it’s obvious.”

But it’s not that obvious, and besides, Viagra costs money (and requires a prescription), while vaccines are, again, free. The news already prompted jokes.

Still, whichever company owns Viagra is probably going to make a lot of money off of vaccine skeptics who don’t want to give money to Big Pharma. What company is that, by the way? The answer may surprise them: It’s Pfizer.

(Via NY Post)