[ad_1]
Across the world, wealthy countries have secured doses of the hopeful Remdesivir. But now there is growing evidence that the antiviral drug does not work. Several Swiss hospitals are already doing without it.
Two vials with remdesivir: some 2,800 people in Switzerland have been treated with it since the summer.
Photo: Ulrich Perrey (Reuters)
From promising candidate to sole hopeful carrier for a drug of questionable effect: the fate of virtually all Covid-19 therapies has now also reached Remdesivir with some delay. This ultimately leaves only one substance with a proven effect: the anti-inflammatory steroid dexamethasone.
The week before, Remdesivir, originally developed to treat Ebola, last made headlines. On November 20, the World Health Organization (WHO) group of guidelines advised against the use of remdesivir in patients with Covid 19 undergoing hospital treatment, regardless of the severity of the disease. Current data do not indicate any significant effect on the health of patients treated with it. The evaluation is late: countries around the world have already purchased large quantities of the drug and administered it to patients. According to estimates by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), 30 percent of all hospitalized Covid 19 patients in Switzerland have received the antiviral drug, around 2,800 people.
