We are closer than ever…
A drug has been found by scientists that has been clinically proven to decrease the amount of deaths in people with severe cases of coronavirus.
A report by Reuters states, “Giving low doses of the generic steroid drug dexamethasone to patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 reduced death rates by around a third among those with the most severe cases of infection. The results, described as a ‘major breakthrough’ by scientists leading the UK-led clinical trial known as RECOVERY, suggest the drug should immediately become standard care in patients treated in hospital with the pandemic disease.”
The professors and chief investigators of the trial have stated:
“Dexamethasone is the first drug to be shown to improve survival in COVID-19. This is an extremely welcome result. The survival benefit is clear and large in those patients who are sick enough to require oxygen treatment, so dexamethasone should now become standard of care in these patients. Dexamethasone is inexpensive, on the shelf, and can be used immediately to save lives worldwide.”
A Times correspondent tweeted:
Breaking: Oxford researchers find 1st drug proven to reduce Covid deaths
Low-cost steroid dexamethasone reduced death by a third in ventilated patients
If used from start of the pandemic it could have saved apprx 5,000 lives in UK
It costs about £5 — about £40 saves a life pic.twitter.com/AuhXcYbjyM
— Rhys Blakely (@rhysblakely) June 16, 2020
This breakthrough will hopefully be the first of many in eradicating the pandemic. Read the full story here.
Image Credit: Business Insider