This archive report was first published on 16 June 2020.
On June 16, 2020, a groundbreaking clinical trial revealed that administering low doses of dexamethasone, a generic steroid, to patients hospitalized with COVID-19 significantly reduced death rates among those with severe cases of infection.
The RECOVERY trial, led by scientists from the UK, demonstrated that dexamethasone should be considered standard care for patients treated in hospital with the pandemic disease.
According to Martin Landray, an Oxford University professor and co-lead investigator of the trial, "This is a result that shows that if patients who have COVID-19 and are on ventilators or are on oxygen are given dexamethasone, it will save lives, and it will do so at a remarkably low cost."
His co-lead investigator, Peter Horby, added that dexamethasone is "the only drug that's so far shown to reduce mortality – and it reduces it significantly."
With over 431,000 global deaths attributed to COVID-19, this breakthrough offers a glimmer of hope in the fight against the pandemic.
