Canada has leaped ahead of the United States ‒ and much of the world ‒ when it comes to vaccinating the general population. But for some misinformed people south of the border who have contracted Covid, their solution to literally what ails them isn’t science, it’s stupidity.

That’s why, for the second time since the pandemic began, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has had to issue a stern warning about self-treating with the dewormer ivermectin, tweeting out the following: “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.” The tweet contains a link to a scientific evidence-based article about why ivermectin, a drug familiar to legions of horse owners as a great dewormer, is only meant for livestock.

According to a report on MSNBC, the state of Mississippi ‒ which has some of the highest COVID-19 infection rates on the planet ‒ has seen its poison control hotline flooded with calls from people who have taken ivermectin for COVID symptoms. It is suspected that the resurgence has been driven by certain conservative media outlets that have told the public that ivermectin works in response to COVID-19.