A Mississippi fire chief died of COVID-19 this week, the same day a legal agreement was reached that allowed his family to seek treatment for the virus with Ivermectin, according to WTVA-TV.
The news outlet reports that Wayne Doyle, the chief of the Lowndes County District 3 Volunteer Fire Department, died of COVID-19 on Tuesday.
WTVA says Doyle had been hospitalized with the virus at North Mississippi Medical Center in the town of Tupelo. His family had asked the hospital to treat Doyle with Ivermectin — an anti-parasitic drug that has not been proven as an effective treatment against COVID-19. According to WCBI-TV hospital reportedly refused to offer the treatments.
On Tuesday, an agreement was reportedly reached that allowed Doyle's family to move him from North Mississippi Medical Center to another hospital that would offer him Ivermectin. However, Doyle died before his family could move him to another facility.
According to an obituary for Doyle, he served as a volunteer firefighter for 40 years and also owned a local construction company. WTVA says first responders escorted Doyle as his body was taken to a local funeral home.
Ivermectin is a drug commonly used as an anti-parasitic. While several clinical trials have taken place to gauge its effectiveness in fighting COVID-19, the FDA has not issued approval for its use in treating the virus.
Despite the lack of FDA approval for use with COVID-19, the use of Ivermectin has skyrocketed in recent months as media members like Joe Rogan have touted the drug. Late last year, livestock feed stores reported a shortage of Ivermectin products meant for use with large animals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also issued warnings about the non-clinical use of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19, noting that it had seen an increase in calls to poison control centers for Ivermectin overdoses.