Liberal comedian Bill Maher once again scorned liberals on his HBO show Friday, condemning the politicization of medication that has happened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What is the background?
Ivermectin, in particular, is a drug that has become controversial. Despite Ivermectin having been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 for “immeasurable” benefits to humans who contract parasitic diseases, the media has reduced ivermectin to a mere “horse dewormer.”
What did Maher say?
Speaking with Reason’s Katherine Mangu-Ward and writer Matt Taibbi, Maher said the pandemic has exposed how people “have politicized medication” — specifically, ivermectin.
“I mean, Ivermectin. It keeps— Ivermectin. It’s a drug. It’s not a politician,” Maher said. “It should not have any reputation, except, ‘Does it work or not?'”
“Like on the left, it was like, ‘Oh no, you can’t even mention it,” Maher continued. “People couldn’t even talk about ivermectin. And of course, the comedians on the left would only talk about the fact that it was used to deworm horses, leaving out that it’s been prescribed millions of times for humans now.”
Real Time With Bill Maher S19E29 Episode 579 | HBO 1st October 2021 FULL 1080HD
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Adding to Maher’s comments, Taibbi observed that during the COVID pandemic “so many people were suddenly rooting against or for certain drugs.” Magnu-Ward agreed that many people “want to be gatekeepers” by controlling the path out of the pandemic. She said those seeking to control the narrative believe the American people are “too stupid” to make their own choices.
“As a doctor I read, a serious doctor said, nothing in medicine is fixed or precise — unlike other sciences,” Maher responded. “That’s the case I’ve been trying to prosecute on this show.”
Earlier in the segment, Maher mentioned the new drug developed by pharmaceutical company Merck. The drug is being advertised as an antiviral that could significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization or death in people who contract COVID-19.
Magnu-Ward told Maher she believes the drug could be a “game-changer,” but said public health officials have only sowed skepticism among the American people.
“I will admit I went into the pandemic extremely skeptical of the FDA and the CDC, but I think America joined me in that as we saw a huge number of mistakes by the public health bureaucracy. Huge,” Magnu-Ward said.
“This pill does not have FDA approval right now. So I want to know how long are we going to have to wait if this is lifesaving, just like the vaccines have turned out to be?” she added. “I would really like for people to have the right to try these life-saving medications. And I’m afraid that the bureaucracy is going to stand in the way.”
Maher previously rebuked big tech censorship of evolutionary biology professor Bret Weinstein, who praised the efficacy of ivermectin.
“YouTube should not be telling me what I can see about ivermectin,” Maher said in June.