New Antiviral Drug Can Help Save Lives Of Patients With Coronavirus Disease

New Antiviral Drug Could Help Save Lives Of Patients With COVID-19.

A new “cheap and widely available” antiviral drug can help save the lives of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This, as experts in the UK said that dexamethasone, a low-dose steroid treatment, was a “major breakthrough” in fighting against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and was part of the biggest trial testing existing treatments in the world. The said drug, according to BBC, could cut the risk of death by “a third” for COVID-19 patients on ventilators and “a fifth” for COVID-19 patients on oxygen.

New Antiviral Drug
Photo from Getty Images (via BBC)

Researchers said that dexamethasone could save up to 5,000 lives if it was used to treat patients with COVID-19 in the UK from the start of coronavirus pandemic.

The UK government already had 200,000 courses of dexamethasone in its stockpile and said that the NHS will make the said drug available to patients with coronavirus disease.

Dexamethasone tablets | Photo from GMA News Online

According to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, there was a “genuine case” to celebrate their “remarkable” scientific achievement in the UK, adding that the British government had taken steps in order to ensure that they had enough supplies and even in the “event of a second peak”.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) hailed UK’s new antiviral drug as “a lifesaving scientific breakthrough” in treating patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

RELATED ARTICLE: WHO Hails New Antiviral Drug As ‘Lifesaving Scientific Breakthrough’

Prof. Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England, said that the said drug would save lives around the world.

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