An inexpensive, widely obtainable drug can help save the lives of patients severely ill with Coronavirus.
The drug dexamethasone a low-dose steroid medication is a significant breakthrough in the fight against the deadly COVID-19 virus according to UK specialists carrying out the trials
The cheap drug has been just one of the drugs specialists have used in what has been described as the world's most prominent Coronavirus trial.
Scientists now know that if the drug had been available from the start of the pandemic, approximately 5,000 lives would have been saved.
Numeric indicators indicate that the drug would have cut the deaths of anyone sick enough to be placed on a ventilator by at least a third. For those who required oxygen, like the British Prime minister Boris Johnson by at least a fifth
Researchers have also determined that the lifesaving drug would be an enormous benefit to poorer countries who at the moment have many numbers of patients
The UK authority already has 200,000 lots of the drug in its stockpile and will soon make dexamethasone readily available to patients shortly
A jovial British Prime Minister Boris Johnson when asked by "Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online" that this was a genuine case to celebrate "a remarkable British scientific achievement", adding: "We have taken steps to ensure we have enough supplies, even in the event of a second peak," the UK Chief Medical Officer echoed Johnson's remarks saying "it would save lives around the world".
The drug dexamethasone is also used to treat other conditions such as arthritis, asthma, inflammation and other skin conditions for many years is both inexpensive to manufacture and readily available. Significantly so far, there have been few if any dangerous side effects noted
The trail, led by a team located at the Oxford University gave 2,000 patients who had varying Coronavirus symptoms the experimental drug.
As a determinator, they also compared their findings against 4,000 patients who were not administered the controlled substance.
How does this simple treatment work? It would appear that dexamethasone helps stop some of the damage that can happen when the body's immune system goes into overdrive while fighting infection, a condition called a cytokine storm which if left untreated can be deadly
As to the length of treatment and its cost, treatment can take approximately 10 days and cost roughly $15.00 per patent.
The advice given to other global countries is to administer the drug to all without delay.
Wonderful news indeed.
Steve Simmonds
Credits and sources" BBC.UK, Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and special thanks to Christine Sandu contributor Unsplash for cover picture