I hadn’t seen that paper, but isn’t your statement missing the forest for the trees? If pathology was attenuated, that would help patient recovery, even if viral load wasn’t directly reduced.
> Even though ivermectin had no effect on viral load, SARS-Cov-2-associated pathology was greatly attenuated. IVM had a sex-dependent and compartmentalized immunomodulatory effect, preventing clinical deterioration and reducing olfactory deficit in infected animals. Importantly, ivermectin dramatically reduced the Il-6/Il-10 ratio in lung tissue, which likely accounts for the more favorable clinical presentation in treated animals. Our data support IVM as a promising anti-COVID-19 drug candidate.
Yes, it seemed like it worked in hamsters, but as we well know, most drugs that work in mice don't work in humans. Besides, we already have many anti-inflammatory drugs that can reduce the cytokines, so it's a stretch to use ivermectin strictly as a steroid.
> Even though ivermectin had no effect on viral load, SARS-Cov-2-associated pathology was greatly attenuated. IVM had a sex-dependent and compartmentalized immunomodulatory effect, preventing clinical deterioration and reducing olfactory deficit in infected animals. Importantly, ivermectin dramatically reduced the Il-6/Il-10 ratio in lung tissue, which likely accounts for the more favorable clinical presentation in treated animals. Our data support IVM as a promising anti-COVID-19 drug candidate.