Amid a mad rush for Remdesivir in the wake of a surge in Covid-19 cases, a group of professional bodies, task forces and leading medical professionals have asserted that the injection has to be used in hospital setting and studies do not indicate mortality reduction with the use of the drug.
Maharashtra’s Covid-19 Task Force member Dr Shashank Joshi tweeted a statement which said: “Remdesivir is an experimental investigational drug granted Emergency use authorization for use in Covid-19.”
“Remdesivir is not a life-saving drug in Covid-19; studies do not demonstrate mortality reduction with this drug. Evidence shows Remdesivir reduces the duration of hospital stay. Remdesivir is to be administered only, and only, in the hospital setting,” according to the statement.
It points out that Remdesivir is advised for hospitalized patients who are moderately sick and receiving oxygen. It is to be given for a total period of 5 days only, during the first 9-10 days of the illness.
Remdesivir must never be administered in the home setting. Unnecessary/irrational use of Remdesivir is unethical, it adds.
Dr Joshi is an endocrinologist, diabetologist and medical researcher and is currently associated with the Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre in Mumbai.
(Published 19 April 2021, 02:54 IST)
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