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Almost a month before Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton signed the import permit to allow stocks of Ivermectin into Jamaica, two foreign medical research groups wrote the Jamaican Government urging use of the anti-parasitic drug to treat COVID-19.The Evidence-Based Medicine Consultancy Ltd (E-BMC Ltd) and Frontline COVID Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), in a letter dated June 30 to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Dr Tufton, and Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, had urged the Jamaican Government to urgently include Ivermectin in its arsenal for combating potential future surges of the virus.Describing Ivermectin is a safe medicine which has been used for nearly 40 years to treat parasitic infections, the groups said "new evidence shows that it has potent antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties as well".In the letter, E-BMC Ltd introduced itself as "a UK-based independent medical research company that contributes to the quality of health care globally through the rigorous evaluation of medical evidence to support clinical practice guidelines". At the same time, FLCCC Alliance explained that it is "a US-based non-profit humanitarian organisation made up of renowned, world-expert clinician-researchers whose sole mission over the past year has been to develop and disseminate the most effective treatment protocols for COVID-19".Both entities said that they had been working together to encourage governments around the world to adopt repurposed existing drugs for the early treatment of COVID-19.E-BMC said that in February it had presented the evidence on Ivermectin to the British Ivermectin Recommendation Development (BiRD) panel - a group that includes researchers and doctors from around the world who have been seeking effective treatments to combat the pandemic."The BiRD panel deliberated on the evidence for the use of Ivermectin against COVID-19, resulting in a recommendation in favour of Ivermectin as a COVID-19 front-line therapy," the groups said.They also said that recently, a team of experts led by Dr Tess Lawrie from BiRD, conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on Ivermectin for COVID-19, the gold standard of evidence, that has been published in the peer reviewed American Journal of Therapeutics."This review concludes that, based on moderate certainty evidence, the use of Ivermectin results in substantial reductions in COVID-19-related deaths and infection," the entities wrote.Late July, after months of lobbying by Jamaican doctors to allow for the importation of Ivermectin for use in the treatment of COVID-19, the health and wellness ministry announced that Tufton had signed the import permit for Ivermectin, but pointed out that the drug will not be used in the public health sector as the ministry is insisting that there is not enough information to recommend the drug for treating COVID-19, and is awaiting the results of larger trials to guide treatment and public health policy.Tufton also said that, while Ivermectin is not being offered in the public health-care system, doctors and patients can decide how they choose to use it.Additionally, the World Health Organisation has said the current evidence on the use of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 patients is inconclusive.The BiRD and FLCCC explained in their letter that they had recommend Ivermectin for treatment of COVID-19 in early out-patient disease at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg - 0.4 mg/kg and for later phase, hospital patients 0.4 mg - 0.6 mg/kg."In each phase, the higher dose range should be used in more severe illness," the said."We strongly recommend that Ivermectin be continued for five days or until recovered. In addition, vitamin D, preferably in the form of calcifediol, should be given. We also recommend that Ivermectin be used as COVID-19 prophylaxis on a large scale through mass distribution of Ivermectin in the dose of 0.2mg/kg (12mg for a 60 kg person) weekly to adults to decrease transmission amongst the general population in the current crisis," the groups added."We believe this will save thousands of lives and reduce the suffering of millions," the said, adding that stories of Ivermectin's ability to beat COVID-19 can be found in many parts of the world, including the Dominican Republic, Peru, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, as well as in other African countries where mass administration of Ivermectin against parasitic infections is practised.