WHO advises against use of remdesivir for hospitalised COVID-19 patients
Nov 20, 2020
Geneva [Switzerland], November 20 : World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday has advised against the use of remdesivir in patients hospitalised for coronavirus treatment.
According to an official statement issued by the health organisation, "WHO has issued a conditional recommendation against the use of remdesivir in hospitalized patients, regardless of disease severity, as there is currently no evidence that remdesivir improves survival and other outcomes in these patients."
"This recommendation, released on 20 November, is part of a living guideline on clinical care for COVID-19. It was developed by an international guideline development group, which includes 28 clinical care experts, 4 patient-partners and one ethicist," it read.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 23 had approved Remdesivir for the treatment of coronavirus, Al Jazeera reported citing a statement issued by Gilead Sciences, Inc.
According to the press release by the company, previously authorised by the FDA for only emergency use to treat COVID-19 patients, Veklury or Remdesivir became the first and only approved COVID-19 treatment in the United States.
The drug was also touted by US President Donald Trump, whose physician confirmed he received it at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as part of his own treatment for COVID-19 earlier this month, Al Jazeera said.
According to the latest update by the Johns Hopkins University, globally 57,076,577 people have tested positive for coronavirus and 1,364,073 deaths have been reported so far.
