‘MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH’

Experts Have Found a Life-Saving Coronavirus Treatment Called Dexamethasone, Says Report

The drug slashed the risk of death for COVID-19 patients on ventilators and oxygen.

British experts say they believe they have made a “major breakthrough” in the fight against the novel coronavirus—a cheap and globally available low-dose steroid treatment called dexamethasone. According to BBC News, the researchers say the drug can cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators, and by a fifth for those on oxygen. The drug is commonly used to reduce inflammation in people suffering from other conditions, but a trial appears to show that it can also help prevent the damage that can happen when the body is trying to fight off the novel coronavirus. In a trial lead by an Oxford University team, around 2,000 hospital patients were given the drug and then compared with nearly 4,000 who did not. For patients on ventilators, the death risk was cut from 40 percent to 28 percent—for patients needing oxygen, it was cut from 25 percent to 20 percent. Lead investigator Peter Horby said: “This is the only drug so far that has been shown to reduce mortality and it reduces it significantly. It’s a major breakthrough.”