Finally.
A cheap and widely available drug called dexamethasone can help save the lives of patients who are seriously ill with coronavirus, according to a breaking news report from BBC, written by health expert Michelle Roberts.
“UK experts say the low-dose steroid treatment is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus.”, said on the report.
“It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.” also from the BBC report.
Dexamethasone is part of the world’s biggest trial testing existing treatments to see if they also work for coronavirus. The promising drug is dubbed as life saver, as “about 19 out of 20 patients with coronavirus recover without being admitted to hospital”.
“There is a clear, clear benefit. The treatment is up to 10 days of dexamethasone and it costs about £5 per patient. So essentially it costs £35 to save a life. This is a drug that is globally available.”, Lead researcher Prof Martin Landray said about the globally available drug.
(£35 is equivalent to 2,217.27 Philippine peso, as of this writing)
Prof Landray said, when appropriate, hospital patients should now be given it without delay, but people should not go out and buy it to take at home.
“Dexamethasone does not appear to help people with milder symptoms of coronavirus – those who don’t need help with their breathing.”, Prof Landray added.