Effective COVID-19 Drug a 'Breakthrough' for Minority of Patients

Results from the large-scale Recovery Trial, affiliated with Oxford University in the UK, demonstrated that the inexpensive inflammatory drug dexamethasone can save thousands of lives of critically ill COVID-19 patients. Researchers and public health experts hail the findings as a breakthrough, and the low cost will be important to providing the treatment widely, even in poorer countries. There is no evidence that the drug benefits less seriously ill people, so medical professionals hope this may prevent a 'run' on the medication - which could reduce access for those who need it for other diseases, as happened with hydroxychloroquine. The caution, amid the excitement, is that a treatment that saves most patients - and a vaccine that can prevent COVID-19 infection, is still beyond the horizon. So keep doing the things you can to reduce your risks and those of others around you: wearing masks, observing physical distance where you can, and washing your hands regularly, as the World Health Organization urges.