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So many rural Oklahomans are overdosing on horse medication that it is overwhelming local hospitals.
Dr Jason McElyea, a physician from Sallisaw, Oklahoma in the Southeast of the state, told Oklahoma City's KFOR that hospitals in his region are being clogged with patients overdosing on ivermectin after using the drug to treat COVID-19.
Many people are using ivermectin, which is FDA approved for human use in some situations, in doses meant for large animals like horses and overdosing.
The volume of overdoses has become a problem for the whole community, as people needing treatment for other issues, like gunshot victims, are left waiting in peril for emergency room space.
Dr Jason McElyea (pictured) told Oklahoma City's KFOR that so many people in his rural Oklahoma community are overdosing on ivermectin it is overwhelming some local hospitals
'There's a reason you have to have a doctor to get a prescription for this stuff, because it can be dangerous,' McElyea told KFOR about the drug.
'...the ERs are so backed up that gunshot victims were having hard times getting to facilities where they can get definitive care and be treated.'
The surge in overdoses has led to ambulances being backed up with calls as well.
'All of their ambulances are stuck at the hospital
