WHO does not recommend the use of remdesivir for patients with covid-19

An international group of WHO experts concluded that there is no evidence that the drug, manufactured by Gilead and used in patients with Ebola, reduces mortality in severe cases of COVID-19 or reduces the need for ventilation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday advised against the use of the antiviral remdesivir in hospitalized patients with covid-19, one of the main treatments against the disease with which it was tested this year, as there is no evidence of which causes improvements in the sick.

An international panel of WHO experts concluded that there is no evidence that the drug, made by the US pharmaceutical company Gilead and previously used in Ebola patients, reduces mortality in severe cases of Covid-19 or reduces the need for ventilation. .

The results, published in the British Medical Association’s British Medical Journal, were obtained after analyzing data from four studies with 7,000 patients hospitalized with covid-19.

The drug “has no significant effects on mortality or other important indicators in patients, such as the need for mechanical ventilation or time for clinical improvement,” the experts stressed.

They clarified that the results do not indicate that remdesivir lacks some beneficial effects for patients, but advise against its use due to the high cost and possible health damage of a drug that must be administered intravenously.

They also made it clear that they argue that clinical trials with this drug, some of which were supported at the time by WHO, continue in specific patient groups to continue gathering evidence on its effects.

The WHO has been recommending for months the use of dexamethasone, a very affordable corticosteroid on the international market, for the treatment of severe cases of COVID-19, as it has offered the best results to date.