AUSTIN, Texas (KLTV) - The Texas Senate has passed an East Texas legislator’s bill allowing pharmacists to dispense ivermectin without a doctor’s prescription.

House Bill 25 , filed by State Rep. Joanne Shofner (R-Nacogdoches), was approved along party lines first in the House Wednesday, and then the Senate hours later.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration , ivermectin can be used to treat certain parasitic diseases in humans and livestock. Lawmakers noted that the drug has been discussed as a possible treatment for COVID-19, which the FDA has not approved.

Republican lawmakers have said the legislation is needed because pharmacists are refusing to fill ivermectin prescriptions. Meanwhile, Democrats have argued that allowing pharmacists to dispense ivermectin without a

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