16 Nov 2021⚡️Unvaccinated Florida woman at center of ivermectin lawsuit dies of COVID after 12 weeks in the hospital

The median cost of similar treatment in Florida is $234,732; a 12-week stay is an outlier, not median

In Florida, Tamara Drock, 47, has died from COVID-19 after 12 weeks at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, according to her husband. [1]

Drock, who was not vaccinated, was admitted to the intensive care unit on August 23, 2021. She was treated with standard COVID protocols, including antibodies and the antiviral medication Remdesivir.

On September 20, hospital doctors placed her on a ventilator. [2]

In mid-October, her case made national headlines when her husband, Ryan Drock, lost his lawsuit attempting to force doctors to treat her with ivermectin. That drug treats conditions caused by parasitic worms; COVID-19 is caused by a virus, SARS-CoV-2. [3]

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ivermectin has not been approved, or shown to be safe or effective, as a COVID-19 treatment for humans or animals. [4]

Don’t trust FDA?

The manufacturer, Merck, does not recommend using ivermectin to treat COVID-19. In February, Merck “said preclinical studies found no scientific basis to suggest it was effective in reducing the effects of COVID-19. Further, it said there was ‘a concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies’.”

Nevertheless, the Drock family attorney, Jake Huxtable, argued that Circuit Judge James Nutt should override hospital doctors, FDA and Merck.

“This woman is sitting on her deathbed,” Huxtable said. “She flatlined a couple of days ago and they revived her. But the hospital is out of options.” [5]

At the time of the hearing, both of Drock’s lungs had collapsed. She could no longer use a ventilator and was receiving oxygen through tubes. [6]

Her husband, Ryan, told the Palm Beach Post, “If she had walked out of the hospital she could have had the medication.” [1]

Belaboring the obvious: Tamara Drock had been unable to breathe on her own, much less walk, since September.

***

The independent nonprofit FAIR Health found in August that the median cost of Covid-19 treatment involving ICU or a ventilator in a Florida hospital is $234,732 without insurance. [13]

A 12-week stay is an edge case, not median. [13] In Oregon, the average stay is about 17 days. Not weeks, days.

The average cost of a 17-day Covid-19 hospitalization at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland is $248,473 when the treatment involves ICU.

Vaccination prevents the majority of severe cases. [14] In June 2020, a 70-year-old Seattle man was in ICU for six weeks and on a ventilator for a month. His hospital bill was $1.1 million. [15]

***

According to the Post, ivermectin lawsuits filed in Florida and across the nation are being orchestrated by a Buffalo, N.Y., law firm. [5]

Western New York attorney Ralph Lorigo took on his first ivermectin lawsuit in January. By September he had hired four additional attorneys. [7]

A Delaware judge ruled that patients cannot force physicians to ignore standards of care. [5]

“Even the terminally ill do not have a constitutional right to procure and use experimental drugs,” wrote Vice Chancellor Morgan Zurn, in denying that request.

In September, Ohio Judge Michael Oster refused to force a hospital to dispense ivermectin. He wrote: “public policy should not and does not support allowing a physician to 'try' any type of treatment on human beings." [8]

The same thing happened in Louisville, Kentucky when a registered nurse sued Norton Brownsboro Hospital. Jefferson Circuit Judge Charles Cunningham, said the court “cannot require a hospital to literally take orders from someone who does not routinely issue such orders.” [9]

Also in September, two people with COVID-19 died (ages 38 and 79) in New Mexico after taking ivermectin. [10]

The Ohio patient at the center of an ivermectin lawsuit died in September. [11]

In addition to the US, health authorities in the United Kingdom and European Union “have found there is insufficient evidence for using the drug against Covid.” [12]

~~~

1. Florida woman dies after suing hospital to get ivermectin

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/florida-woman-dies-suing-hospital-ivermectin-81201913

2. Florida man files lawsuit in hopes of forcing doctors to treat wife's COVID-19 with Ivermectin

https://www.wptv.com/coronavirus/loxahatchee-man-files-lawsuit-to-force-doctors-to-treat-wife-with-ivermectin

3. Teacher With COVID Dies Weeks After Husband Sued Hospital Over Ivermectin Refusal

https://www.newsweek.com/teacher-covid-dies-weeks-after-husband-sued-hospital-over-ivermectin-treatment-refusal-florida-1649618

4. Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-ivermectin-treat-or-prevent-covid-19

5. Judge wary of ordering Palm Beach Gardens hospital to give ivermectin to COVID patient

https://amp.palmbeachpost.com/amp/8470299002

6. Hospital breaks promise to give Ivermectin to Loxahatchee woman sick with COVID, lawyer tells judge

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/coronavirus/2021/10/13/covid-patients-request-ivermectin-denied-hospital-lawyer-claims/8437265002/

7. As WNY attorney fights for COVID patients to get ivermectin treatment, UB doctor cautions more studies are needed

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/politics/2021/09/15/wny-attorney-taking-on-ivermectin-cases-across-the-country

8. Wife cannot force Cincinnati-area hospital to treat husband's COVID-19 with Ivermectin, judge rules

https://www.wcpo.com/news/coronavirus/judge-patients-wife-cannot-force-uc-west-chester-to-treat-covid-19-patient-with-ivermectin

9. She demanded a hospital treat her husband’s covid-19 with ivermectin. A judge said no.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/09/16/kentucky-ivermectin-hospital-lawsuit-underwood/

10. New Mexico links 2 deaths to ivermectin misuse

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/new-mexico-links-2-deaths-to-ivermectin-misuse.html

11. Man Whose Wife Sued Hospital Over Ivermectin Treatment Dies of COVID

https://www.newsweek.com/man-whose-wife-sued-hospital-over-ivermectin-treatment-dies-covid-1635821

12. Ivermectin: How false science created a Covid 'miracle' drug

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-58170809

13. Stay in ICU for COVID patients can cost more than $100K, even with insurance, data shows

https://www.fox13news.com/news/financial-burden-of-getting-covid-19

14. Cost of Covid: Hospital stays longer, more costly for difficult treatment

https://www.salemreporter.com/posts/5118/cost-of-covid-hospital-stays-longer-more-costly-for-difficult-treatment

15. Breaking down this ‘miracle’ COVID-19 survivor’s $1.1 million hospital bill

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/breaking-down-this-miracle-covid-19-survivors-11-million-hospital-bill-2020-06-16