It is having its greatest impact on lesser sick patients. Patients that are ill and on supplemental oxygen find the best result.
Okay. So, the patients that are very sick and on ventilators are still receiving dexamethasone as their best friend in this pandemic. The remdesivir is still being administered to these patients.
Dexamethosone is proven to be a huge benefit to all patients.
These are my initial thoughts about this review I read in the dialogue called "The CONVERSATION."
I think patients have to be treated very early in the disease process. The earlier the infection and showing symptoms is the time to begin both these medications. Now, there is no discussion of the Regeneron REGN-Cov2 Antibody Cocktail (click here). That can be emergently approved by the FDA and perhaps it should. But, this article discusses a UK finding about remdesivir. I think it's greatest message is to administer remdesivir as early as possible for people that test positive and are having symptoms.
The problem with that proposal is the expense and availability of remdesivir. If the financial markets want consistent and plenty of profit, they need to invest in GILEAD and in particular their product VEKLURY (the registered trademark) redesivir. PLEASE invest in the production of this medication. It is helpful in fighting this virus and no one disagrees with that fact.
The results of the ACTT-1 trial, (click here) which looked at the effectiveness of remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19, have finally been published. So far the only drug that has been shown to reduce deaths from the disease has been dexamethasone, a steroid that suppresses the immune system through its anti-inflammatory effects. Steroids have a secondary effect on the disease – they don’t target the virus itself. Remdesivir, on the other hand, goes straight to the cause of the disease by inhibiting the virus....
...They found that patients receiving the drug improved and recovered more quickly, were less likely to progress to severe disease, were discharged from hospital sooner, and had a lower death rate of 11.4% compared with 15.2% in patients receiving “usual” treatment....
Why do I believe early administration to a person with a positive SARS-CoV-2 and showing symptoms is when this medication needs to start? It is a viral load. I haven't seen the study directly, but, I am confident there are blood tests in that trial and there are viral load recorded. THERE IS AN OPTIMAL VIRAL LOAD that remdesivir can vanquish with the body's help and dexamethasone as a companion treatment.
It only makes sense. Remdesivir attacks the virus. There is a maximum does that the human body can tolerate. So, the higher the viral load will demand MORE DAYS to be effective opposed to a lower viral load and the dosage tolerable will have a greater impact.
Remdesivir works against this virus. It is vital to determine it's most effective dosage and it's optimal time in the infection to begin and sustain administration to remove this virus from a person's body. There has to be an independent decision about children, but, it is vital it is determined.
Children need their own testing tool because at this point the adult testing places them into treatment at the point where they have a heavy viral load in a small person. Children must be tested at a point where the virus is at an early point in it's invasion of the child's body. The adult tests are ineffective and only identity a viral load too late in children.
If remdesivir is to help children maximally, early detection is vital and early administration begun early in their infection to avoid the inflammatory disease. That inflammatory disease in children causes tissue damage they will have for the rest of their lives. We need to concentrate on a vital child test that works for all ages even infancy to find when they are infected and begin treatment in measured amounts of medication to end the virus attack on them.
Observations I have made about families with young children is that the adults are oblivious to the danger their infants can face. The parents are walking with strollers. The adults and older children are wearing masks, but, the infant in the stroller is completely exposed. The family focus must be a great concern and more education carried out to end the neglect of the babies and toddlers to their danger from this virus.
I congratulate all those so very diligent in finding treatments and vaccines. They are unsung heroes alongside of the front line workers. They are also the best friends to the front line workers to end the virus as soon as possible, optomize the patients ability to fight back and provide faster recovery to a negative testing status after treatment.
Best to all and thank you so very, very much for keeping both oars in the water.
