After Unsuccessful Ivermectin Lawsuit, South FL Teacher Dies From COVID-19: Report

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL — A Palm Beach County kindergarten teacher at the center of a legal battle to treat her worsening COVID-19 symptoms with ivermectin, an unproven drug for treating the virus, has died.

Tamara Drock, 47 of Loxahatchee died Friday, 12 weeks after being admitted to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center’s intensive care unit, WPTV reported.

In September, when her condition grew worse, and she was intubated and put on a ventilator, her husband, Ryan Drock, asked hospital staff to treat her with ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug, but his request was refused, reports said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the drug to treat COVID-19, saying it hasn’t proved effective in pre-clinical trials.

Her husband sued the hospital in October in an attempt to force doctors to administer the drug to his wife, but Palm Beach County Circuit Judge James Nutt rejected his lawsuit, WBNS reported.

Nutt urged both parties to come to an agreement on their own. They couldn’t reach a deal, though, because the family thought the dosage the doctor suggested was too low, reports said.