UK approves Dexamethasone for Covid-19 treatment

• Posted on June 17, 2020June 17, 2020
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The United Kingdowm (UK) has approved Dexamethasone for the treatment of novel coronavirus, Covid-19.

So far, Dexamethasone is the first drug that has proven to increase the survival rate for hospitalised Covid-19 patients. The steroid is given either via an injection or as a tablet. The cost of Dexamethasone is only £5 per patient.

This according to Scientists is the ‘biggest breakthrough in search for Covid19 therapy.’

Oxford Professor, Peter Horby who led the British trail said a life could be saved with every eight patients.

He said the drug could save up to 35 per cent of patients relying on ventilators – the most dangerously ill – and reduce the odds of death by a fifth for all patients needing oxygen at any point.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also hailed the finding as the ‘biggest breakthrough yet’ in the UK’s coronavirus fight.

“I’m absolutely delighted that the biggest breakthrough yet has been made by a fantastic team of scientists right here in the UK… I think there is genuine cause to celebrate a remarkable British scientific achievement [and] the benefits it will bring not just in this country but around the world, ” he said at a press conference.

Dexamethasone, first created in the 1950s, is usually given to treat ulcerative colitis, arthritis and some types of cancer.

It is already licensed and proven to be safe, meaning it can be used in human patients immediately, and is a generic drug, meaning it can be manufactured cheaply and en masse by companies all over the world.