In a written answer on 9 July 2026, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Olivér Várhelyi defended the European Commission and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) against criticism that they hindered the use of ivermectin for COVID-19, reiterating that no clinical data from appropriately conducted trials supported its efficacy and that the drug carries toxicity risks at higher doses. The answer, addressed to Austrian MEP Gerald Hauser (PfE), pushes back on claims that ivermectin could have prevented half of EU COVID-19 deaths, dismissing the underlying analysis as methodologically flawed and not peer-reviewed.
Várhelyi's response is a formal reply to a parliamentary question, not a new policy announcement. It restates the Commission's long-standing position first articulated in replies to earlier questions (E-004556/2021 and P-003029/2023) and in an EMA press release from March 2021. The Commissioner stressed that ivermectin medicines are not authorised for COVID-19 in the EU and that no application for such use has been submitted to the EMA. He also noted that the analysis cited by Hauser combines heterogeneous studies of low quality, likely biasing results toward an apparent treatment effect.
The answer carries no concrete proposals, deadlines, or institutional follow-up. It is a declarative defence of existing EU regulatory practice, with no indication of a policy shift. Stakeholders impacted include EU physicians, who retain clinical freedom but must work within the bounds of authorised medicines; patients seeking alternative treatments; the pharmaceutical industry, which has no incentive to pursue ivermectin authorisation for COVID-19; and EU regulatory bodies, whose scientific credibility is reaffirmed. The cleavage is between individual treatment choice and evidence-based regulation, with the Commission firmly on the side of the latter.