Maryland U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, a doctor, prescribes ivermectin to patient to treat COVID-19

A Republican congressman from Maryland who is also a license physician said he prescribed the controversial drug Ivermectin to patient for the treatment of the early stages of COVID-19.

Harris, who was a physician at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, a medical officer in the Naval Reserve, and a state senator before coming to Congress, still practices part-time at Memorial Hospital in Easton, Maryland. He is Maryland's only Republican representative in Congress. Representative Andy Harris, a Republican from Maryland, speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. President Biden's $4.1 trillion economic agenda, after early progress in the Senate, now faces a crucial test this week in the U.S. House, where Speaker Pelosi must keep her fractious Democratic majority moving in lockstep. Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images) A box of ivermectin is shown in a pharmacy as pharmacists work in the background, Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, in Ga. At least two dozen lawsuits have been filed around the U.S., many in recent weeks by people seeking to force hospitals to give their COVID-stricken loved ones ivermectin, a drug for parasites that has been promoted by conservative commentators as a treatment despite a lack of conclusive evidence that it helps people with the virus. ((AP Photo/Mike Stewart))

This comes as at least two dozen lawsuits have been filed around the U.S., many in recent weeks, by people seeking to force hospitals to give their COVID-stricken loved ones ivermectin, a drug for parasites that has been promoted by conservative commentators as a treatment. The drug isn't authorized or approved by the FDA to prevent or treat COVID-19. Ivermectin misuse and overdoses climbed amid the pandemic, as indicated by calls to poison control centers over ivermectin-related toxicity, per a recent health advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).