Hotez calls out wellness 'grifters'

Peter Hotez, a vaccine scientist at Baylor College of Medicine, used an X post to accuse wellness influencers of selling patients unproven ivermectin cancer claims through paid telehealth funnels. (bcm.edu, x.com) Hotez is dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor and co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development in Houston. His post pointed to ivermectin pitches that pair social media promotion with online prescribing and supplement sales. (bcm.edu, texaschildrens.org, x.com) Ivermectin is a real drug, but the Food and Drug Administration says its approved human uses are limited to some parasitic infections, head lice, and rosacea formulations. The agency says it has not authorized or approved ivermectin to treat COVID-19, and it warns that misuse can send patients to the hospital. (fda.gov, fda.gov) Cancer treatment works differently from parasite treatment: doctors look for evidence from human trials showing a drug shrinks tumors or helps patients live longer. The National Cancer Institute lists ivermectin in cancer research databases, but one phase 2 triple-negative breast cancer study with pembrolizumab is marked “withdrawn.” (cancer.gov, cancer.gov, cancer.gov) The gap between lab hints and patient care has become a public fight over the past year. KFF reported in July 2025 that unsupported ivermectin-as-cancer claims were spreading online at the same time some states were moving to expand access to the drug. (kff.org, pharmacytimes.com) That online push has also turned into a business model. Telehealth sites currently advertise ivermectin consultations, location-based prescribing, and bundled “wellness” plans, including pages that mention viral illness and possible cancer-related uses. (telewellnessmd.com, secureyourwellness.com, drstellamd.com) Some researchers are still testing ivermectin in narrow oncology settings, which is different from claiming it already works for cancer. An American Society of Clinical Oncology abstract describes an early-phase trial combining ivermectin with balstilimab in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, while Oncology News Central reported the first small dataset showed little benefit in eight evaluable patients. (asco.org, oncologynewscentral.com) Mainstream cancer groups are still telling patients to rely on established evidence and discuss trial options with their oncology teams. The American Cancer Society says the United States is expected to see 2,114,850 new cancer cases in 2026, a scale that helps explain why unsupported treatment claims travel fast. (cancerstatisticscenter.cancer.org, cancer.org, cancer.gov) Hotez’s post landed as ivermectin re-entered cancer conversations well after its COVID-19 boom. The immediate dispute is not whether scientists can study old drugs, but whether influencers should market them to patients before the evidence exists. (vpm.org, x.com)