We don’t often use the term [Breaking News] here at Goody Feed but if there is one article that deserves the title, it’s this one.
Meet Dexamethasone
This drug has been used since the 1960s to treat many conditions.
It can help reduce inflammation in conditions like asthma, arthritis and some skin condition.
The low dose steroid treatment was used on Covid-19 patients as part of the RECOVERY Trial in the UK, which randomly tests various treatments on suspected or confirmed Covid-19 patients.
And the result is “a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus”, according to UK experts.
Cuts Down Covid-19 Deaths
According to UK statistics, 1 out of 20 Covid-19 patients has to be admitted to the hospital.
And out of the admitted patients, some of them have to be placed on mechanical ventilators or given oxygen.
In the trial, 2,000 Covid-19 patients were given the drug and compared against 4,000 Covid-19 patients who did not undergo the drug treatment.
It was found that:
- The risk of death was reduced from 40% to 20% (patients on ventilators)
- And the isk of death was reduced from 25% to 20% (patients who required oxygen)
From the findings, the researchers estimate that:
But that’s not the only reason why this drug is so important.
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Another Important Reason Why This Drug Is A ‘Major Breakthrough’
The treatment is about 10 days of dexamethasone and the cost is about £5 per patient.
This means that in essence, someone could be saved from Covid-19 with £35 (~S$61.31).
Yes, a far cry from the US$1.1 million medical bill the longest-hospitalised Covid-19 patient in the US faced.
This drug is also globally available which means that poorer countries will also be able to get their hands on the treatment and cure their people.
The UK has 200,000 courses of the drug available in its stockpile and it’s going to make them available to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
Only For People With Serious Symptoms
A majority of Covid-19 patients actually recover from the virus on their own without having to go to the hospital.
Prof Martin Landray, the lead researcher in the study, said that the drug is only effective on people with serious Covid-19 symptoms (aka those who had to go to the hospital and be placed on assisted breathing).
He cautioned against people going out to buy the drug for themselves and taking it at home.
The only other drug that is proven to reduce the duration of symptoms for Covid-19 is remdesivir.
Yes, you might have heard President Trump talk about it many, many times.
It is limited in supply and prices for the drug has yet to be announced.
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