Only one Iowa hospital is treating COVID-19 patients with a newly-approved drug that’s hoped to help in the healing process.
Remdesivir isn’t a cure or a prevention vaccine, but researchers say it can help some patients recover from coronavirus more quickly, perhaps cutting as much as four days off their recovery.
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has been using the intravenous antiviral drug in clinical trials since late March.
About two-dozen patients with severe symptoms were treated with remdesivir at the Iowa City hospital. One patient reportedly died, though UIHC officials say it was a severe case and don’t attribute the death to the drug.
After gaining FDA approval just last week, production is being ramped up and more Iowa hospitals should have the drug — soon — though there’s no timetable.