'Significant step': HHS chief lauds approval of emergency use of Remdesivir for COVID-19

The Secretary of US Department of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar said that approval of the emergency use of the antiviral drug, previously used for Ebola infection, remdesivir is a 'significant step' for treating patients of coronavirus with severe symptoms. It came after a couple of days after the National Institutes of Health’s clinical trial showed positive results of the drug on COVID-19 patients. According to him, it is a prominent example of how US President Donald trump’s administration is fast-tracking its road to recovery from the global health crisis by using “science to save lives”. Azar also lauded the people working in different US government agencies who have been working “tirelessly” to find potential treatment of the highly contagious disease. 

The HHS Secretary said, “FDA’s emergency authorization of remdesivir, two days after the National Institutes of Health’s clinical trial showed promising results, is a significant step forward in battling COVID-19 and another example of the Trump Administration moving as quickly as possible to use science to save lives.”

“NIH, FDA, and scientists across America and around the world have worked tirelessly with patients to get us this new potential treatment for COVID-19. The seamless cooperation between government and private industry under the President’s all-of-America approach to COVID-19 is getting treatment options to patients in record time,” Azar added. 

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'Will be administered intravenously'

The United States has approved the emergency use of the antiviral drug, previously used for Ebola infection, remdesivir for treating patients of coronavirus with severe symptoms on May 1. While the drug is still under investigation, the US Food and Drug Department gave a green light to use the Gilead Sciences, Inc on both adults and children who show extreme diseases of COVID-19. The US government has noted the “limited information” it has on the safety and effectiveness of using remdesivir to treat the patients of the novel virus, but apparently it has shortened the time to recovery in some patients.

The authorisation of emergency use of remdesivir came as the country has 904,113 active cases of coronavirus. The country has recorded over 65,776 deaths. The emergency use includes that the drug would be distributed in the country and "administered intravenously" by medical professionals, to cure the infection of suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in adults and children hospitalized with severe disease.

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