Rachel Maddow Refuses to Delete Tweet Falsely Claiming Oklahoma Hospital Unable to Treat Patients Due to ‘Ivermectin’

On Thursday, MSNBC Host Rachel Maddow shared a story from Oklahoma news channel KFOR. The tweet included quotes from Dr. Jason McElyea claiming, “Patients overdosing on ivermectin backing up rural Oklahoma hospitals, ambulances” “‘The scariest one I’ve heard of and seen is people coming in with vision loss,’ he said.”

The information in the story comes from Dr. Jason McElyea, who apparently hasn’t worked at the hospital he claims is having the issue in the last two months. Maddow doesn’t seem too concerned over sharing the misinformation, as she has not yet removed the article or added any update/disclamer.

“Patients overdosing on ivermectin backing up rural Oklahoma hospitals, ambulances”

“‘The scariest one I’ve heard of and seen is people coming in with vision loss,’ he said.”https://t.co/P909GtxBQZ

— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) September 2, 2021

Dr. Jason McElyea the source for the article is quoted as saying, “The ERs are so backed up that gunshot victims were having hard times getting to facilities where they can get definitive care and be treated”.

Rolling Stone also covered the bed shortage at Oklahoma hospitals in an article titled “Gunshot Victims Left Waiting as Horse Dewormer Overdoses Overwhelm Oklahoma Hospitals, Doctor Says”. Clearly using the aforementioned quote from Dr. Jason McElyea as the highlight of the article.

The article has a long update with a statement issued by Northeastern Hospital System Sequoyah in response to Dr. Jason McElyea, the doctor referenced in both articles making the claims about people overdosing on ivermectin.

The hospital system’s statement reads, “Although Dr. Jason McElyea is not an employee of NHS Sequoyah, he is affiliated with a medical staffing group that provides coverage for our emergency room.

With that said, Dr. McElyea has not worked at our Sallisaw location in over 2 months.

NHS Sequoyah has not treated any patients due to complications related to taking ivermectin. This includes not treating any patients for ivermectin overdose.

All patients who have visited our emergency room have received medical attention as appropriate. Our hospital has not had to turn away any patients seeking emergency care.

We want to reassure our community that our staff is working hard to provide quality healthcare to all patients. We appreciate the opportunity to clarify this issue and as always, we value our community’s support.”

“UPDATE” https://t.co/hjNerdsGX6 pic.twitter.com/6l8hxJbkMA

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) September 5, 2021

As Maddow has yet to take down the misinformation and/or make a correction, her tweet has now been shared over 16k times and counting. This seems a double standard to some when it comes to misinformation on how the left is allowed to circulate this false narrative without repercussion.

Ivermectin is not only used to treat horses but is a medication for humans that can be prescribed by a doctor, this would be the appropriate way to get ivermectin if need be, as one should always consult their doctor before starting a new medication or treatment. We’re not claiming it should be used for anything in particular here though, as we’re not medical experts.