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3d ago

Texas House Passes Bill to Allow Over-the-Counter Ivermectin

The measure now moves to the Republican-led Senate following Gov. Greg Abbott's special-session designation.

HB 25’s author, state Rep. Joanne Shofner of Nacogdoches, right, has said she believes the medication is effective against COVID-19.
A box of Ivermectine drug in a pharmacy in Paris, France on April 16, 2021.
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Overview

  • Representatives voted 88-51 to advance HB 25, which would let pharmacies sell ivermectin for human use without a prescription.
  • A companion measure has broad Republican sponsorship in the Senate, which approved a similar bill in 2023.
  • Backers, including Speaker Dustin Burrows, frame the change as expanding medical freedom and say pharmacy access is safer than purchases from feed stores.
  • Democrats argued the policy risks harm, noting no major medical groups back over-the-counter sales and citing FDA and WHO guidance against using ivermectin for COVID-19, as well as a 2021 spike in poisonings in Texas.
  • Supporters have cited a 2021 review suggesting benefits for COVID-19, but a large meta-analysis published in May 2025 found no meaningful patient outcome improvements from ivermectin.