![]() ![]() The NIH says full doses of blood thinners such as heparin may help people who are moderately ill avoid breathing machines or other organ support. A host of drugs that blunt inflammation and other immune responses are being tried for this later stage of illness. As illness goes on, the immune system may become overactive and people can die from that. “Early on, you want the immune system to fight the virus,” so treatment is aimed at helping that happen, Fauci explained. If used earlier, when patients are only mildly ill, they can do harm. The only medicines that do boost survival are dexamethasone and similar steroids for patients sick enough to need extra oxygen and intensive care. But it hasn’t been shown to improve survival, so a World Health Organization guidelines panel opposes use of the pricey drug. ![]() In studies, it cut the time to recovery by five days on average, from 15 days to 10. Remdesivir is used for patients who need extra oxygen but not breathing machines. The NIH also is seeking a home-use option in a study that is testing up to seven drugs already used for other diseases. If it pans out, it could be taken at home when symptoms first appear, similar to how antiviral drugs for the flu are used now. It doesn’t seem to help hospitalized patients but shows promise in less sick ones, and a large study should give results this fall, the companies said. Farthest along is molnupiravir, from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. Several companies, including Pfizer, Roche and AstraZeneca, are testing antivirals in pill form. Francis Collins said at a recent seminar. Remdesivir also is the only antiviral COVID-19 medicine - it interferes with virus reproduction - and “we really, really need a bunch more,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. remains the only one approved for COVID-19 in the U.S., though some others, such as the one Medina received, are authorized for emergency use. That drug - remdesivir, sold as Veklury by Gilead Sciences Inc. ![]() The biggest need is for a convenient medicine such as a pill “that can prevent people with symptoms from getting worse and needing hospitalization,” he said. Anthony Fauci, recently told the National Press Club. government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. “We’re seeing more and more young people get into serious trouble … serious disease requiring hospitalization, and occasionally even tragic deaths,” the U.S. While vaccines are helping to curb the pandemic, easier and better treatments are needed, especially as virus variants spread. Other medicines for sicker patients can speed recovery, but only a few improve survival. Treatments like these can help newly diagnosed patients avoid hospitalization, but they are grossly underused because they require an IV. I was showering, eating, playing with my son.” After two days, “I really started turning the corner. They quickly arranged for her to get a novel drug that supplies virus-blocking antibodies, and “by the next day I was able to get up and move around,” she said. But when the 30-year-old nurse arrived at a Long Island hospital last month, so short of breath she could barely talk, doctors knew just what to do. If Priscila Medina had gotten COVID-19 a year ago, she would have had no treatments proven safe and effective to try. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. ![]()
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