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Man dies of COVID-19, family says hospital refused court ordered treatment
FOX 26 Anchor Rashi Vats spoke with the family of a Richmond veteran, who died of COVID-19 after they say 74-year-old wasn't given his court-ordered treatment by a Sugar Land hospital.
RICHMOND, Texas - A 74-year-old veteran from Richmond died on Monday, and his family believes the Ivermectin prescribed by his doctor could have saved him. Despite a court order, Memorial Hermann Sugar Land refused to give it to him, according to the family.
"We are taking this time to grieve and process," said Gabrielle Snider, the granddaughter of Pete Lopez.
The Vietnam War vet had gone to his doctor and been prescribed the medicine by the VA Medical Center, according to the family, but he was admitted to the hospital before the medication arrived.
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He tested positive for COVID-19, and he was put on a ventilator on August 19.
A judge signed a court order, FOX 26 obtained, siding with the family. It states in part: "The first administration of Ivermectin to Pete Lopez shall occur today, September 3, 2021."
That never happened, according to the family.
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Memorial Hermann said they couldn’t comment on specific cases, but did release a statement saying in part: "It is important to note that physicians diagnose and treat patients consistent with best medical practices… The FDA has not authorized or approved Ivermectin for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19. Data currently available does not demonstrate that Ivermectin is safe or effective against COVID-19 infection."
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"Memorial Herman took away from my grandfather and us, his family, the opportunity to know whether or not that drug would have worked for him. We don’t know if that would have worked. Memorial Herman took that away from us. We will never have that peace," said Snider.
We asked if Lopez was vaccinated, but family members did not want to disclose that information.
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