Five people in Oregon landed in the hospital after attempting to ward off, or cure themselves of, COVID-19 with ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug that scientists have explicitly warned against as a COVID-cure. According to the Oregon Health & Science University News, the Oregon Poison Center has dealt with 25 Oregonians who opted to use the unproven drug to try to treat or prevent COVID-19 between Aug. 1 and Sept. 14. Five of them had such adverse reactions to ivermectin, they were admitted to the intensive care unit.

Dr. Robert Hendrickson, medical director of the Oregon Poison Center at Oregon Health & Science University, warned of taking the “unproven and potentially dangerous” drug. He urged health care providers to prescribe “treatments that are already carefully tested and approved.” However, some cases reportedly involved patients obtaining a prescription themselves—sometimes involving veterinary forms of the drug.