More of drug touted to help COVID-19 patients is available in South Carolina
One of the more popular drugs used as a treatment to help COVID-19 patients to recover is more readily available to doctors in South Carolina.
After a limited supply of Remdesivir was initially shared with South Carolina, now more doses are being made available by the Department of Health and Environmental Control, health officials said Thursday in a news release.
Remdesivir is one of many COVID-19 treatments and vaccines in the pipeline, but it gained recognition when the results of an early trial were touted by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The drug recently received an emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating patients during the coronavirus pandemic.
During a clinical trial, Remdesivir was shown to shorten the recovery time in some COVID-19 patients, according to the release. Since then, Gilead Sciences donated vials of Remdesivir to the U.S. government to be distributed nationwide, with the initial allotment distributed to states and territories earlier in May.
During the initial federal distribution, DHEC said South Carolina received enough doses to treat up to 66 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Both Prisma Health and Lexington Medical Center were provided doses of the drug in that allotment.
DHEC said it has now received more doses of Remdesivir which will be distributed using the same allocation process. Physicians caring for patients with COVID-19 can request Remdesivir around the clock and will receive the drug within 24 hours of their request, according to the release.
“Working nonstop last week, the Remdesivir advisory committee developed a clinically informed, ethical framework for allocation of the medication to South Carolinians to ensure the process is fair, equitable, patient-centered and clinically sound,” MUSC official Dr. Dee Ford said in the release.
Currently five-day treatment courses of Remdesivir are available to doctors through an online application sent to hospitals by the South Carolina Hospital Association, and those requests will be reviewed in line with the plan developed by the expert advisory committee.
“We thank Gilead for their generous donation of Remdesivir and hope that the doses of this drug we received will help shorten the course of COVID-19 illness in some patients and save the lives of South Carolinians,” DHEC Director of Public Health Dr. Joan Duwve said in the release.
On Wednesday, 125 new cases of the coronavirus were reported in South Carolina, bringing the statewide total to 9,175 confirmed COVID-19 cases in all 46 counties, according to DHEC.
DHEC also announced that eight more people died after testing positive for the coronavirus, raising that total to 407.
There have been 129,063 combined negative tests at DHEC’s public health laboratory and at private labs.
Symptoms of coronavirus can include a fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing, according to the CDC. Other symptoms that could be signs are chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and new loss of taste or smell, according to DHEC.
Among the emergency warning signs of COVID-19 is trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, and blueish lips or face, the CDC said.
As of Thursday, 4,858,850 people worldwide have been diagnosed with coronavirus and 329,300 people have died, while 1,918,938 have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States leads the world with 1,556,749 people who have been diagnosed with the novel virus. In the U.S. 93,863 deaths have been reported, including 28,636 in New York City, according to Johns Hopkins.
This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 1:50 PM.
