Scientists' 'hatred' for former President Donald Trump is the reason they won't look at deworming drug ivermectin as a potential COVID-19 treatment, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul said Friday.

'The hatred for Trump deranged these people so much, that they're unwilling to objectively study it,' he told a group of 60 constituents gathered in the Cold Spring, Kentucky city council chamber.

He added that studies on hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug touted by Trump and his supporters as a COVID treatment, were 'tainted' by researchers' 'hatred for Donald Trump,' the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

Ivermectin can be used in small doses to treat parasitic worm infections in humans, like head lice and scabies, but in the US is more widely used to combat roundworms and other parasites in livestock.   

Doctors say it has no capacity to treat viruses such as COVID-19.

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration have repeatedly warned Americans against using it to treat COVID.

There's been a significant spike in over-the-counter prescriptions of ivermectin outside of its narrow recommended use - commonly in 'veterinary formulations' more suited to livestock, like horses. 

Some who can not get a prescription are resorting to using versions of the drugs made for animals. 

'Adverse effects associated with ivermectin misuse and overdose are increasing, as shown by a rise in calls to poison control centers reporting overdoses and more people experiencing adverse effects,' the CDC notes.