Editorial — Updated
Are they idiots or just plain stupid?
Polk County Commissioner Neil Combee said he’s been prescribed hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin by a doctor and has been taking the drugs since April 1, 2020, with no problems.
Commissioner Bill Braswell said he is in support of Combee’s letter to the Governor. Braswell told other news stations he took ivermectin, the prescription for humans, for nine months until he got vaccinated in March.
Polk County Commissioner Bill Braswell 
Polk County Commissioner Neil Combee
Combee also mentioned Pepcid AC at last Friday’s commission meeting.
The over-the-counter heartburn medicine is a drug “the government knows” mitigates COVID-19, Combee said.
The website for PEPCID says, similarly, “PEPCID is not indicated for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19.”
Combee wouldn’t tell us what doctor prescribed him the medicine or provide the names of any local doctors who have endorsed the drug as a treatment against COVID.
Prescribing medications off-label could be illegal even for a doctor.
Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, it is illegal for pharmaceutical companies to promote their products for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and corporations that market drugs for off-label indications may be subject to civil liability under the False Claims Act.
Polk County Commission has drafted a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis encouraging him to promote the drugs ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine as treatment options for COVID-19 — even though the federal Food and Drug Administration, one drug maker’s own website, and local health officials warn the drugs shouldn’t be used to combat the virus.
The commission is expected to vote Tuesday on whether the letter should be sent.
While the majority of commissioners voiced support for it Friday, Commissioner George Lindsey said sending such a letter is “far outside the Board of County Commissioners’ area of responsibility and expertise.”
Combee, who once served on the board of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in an appointed role, told the Ledger earlier this summer that he “doesn’t trust the government.”
Dr. Hal Escowitz, Lakeland Regional Health’s chief quality officer and chief medical informatics officer, told us the hospital system does not support the use of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19.
“To date, our analysis has identified no scientific basis to support the use of ivermectin as a potential therapeutic effect against COVID-19,” he wrote in an email. “In addition, there is a concerning lack of safety data.”
Dr. Joy Jackson, with @FLHealthPolk, plans to attend Tuesday’s Polk County Commission meeting and hopes to have an opportunity to speak about this proposed letter, according to the health department.
Obviously, Combee doesn’t realize as a County Commissioner he is part of the government that he doesn’t trust.
Guess that means we shouldn’t trust Neil Combee.
Actually he sounds like someone to trust. If he questions the people he is working for, then I would suggest listening to him or her, or whoever questions anyone. Putting complete trust and faith in mankind is obviously a mistake that has been proven, over and over throughout time. I applaud anyone who will stand up against the powers to be who are going to “DICTATE” ooops, I meant mandate what I can and cant take for a supposed virus that is at a Pandemic scale. Which anyone with just a little bit of common sense knows that the only pandemic is the the push to be vaccinated. Trust the science? Well I don’t trust anyone who is pushing the vaccine or masks for something that is less dangerous than a mosquito bite! You want to know why big Pharma, the Government and all the other’s who are putting down these easy and simple methods for taking care of and controlling The Covid pandemic bs, it’s because they are inexpensive and easy to get and people usually have immediate response in a positive way to rid themselves of the big bad covid…This is so easy to see that this is obviously a push for total control of people and another way for big tech, and big pharma and politicians and whoever’s in bed with them to make lots of money!!!