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Published Friday, October 30, 2020
International News
Preliminary results released about
repurposed drugs for covid-19
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services
In just six months, the world’s largest randomized controlled trial on covid-19 therapeutics has generated conclusive evidence on the effectiveness of repurposed drugs for the treatment of covid-19, announced the World Health Organization, WHO.
Interim results from the Solidarity Therapeutics Trial, coordinated by WHO, indicate that remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon regimens appeared to have little or no effect on 28-day mortality or the in-hospital course of covid-19 among hospitalized patients.
The study, which spans more than 30 countries, investigated the effects of these treatments on overall mortality, initiation of ventilation, and duration of hospital stay for patients. Other uses of the drugs, for example in the treatment of patients in the community or for prevention, would have to be examined using different trials.
The progress achieved by the Solidarity Therapeutics Trial shows that large international trials are possible, even during a pandemic, and offer the promise of quickly and reliably answering critical public health questions concerning therapeutics.
The results of the trial are under review for publication in a medical journal. It has been uploaded as a preprint on the website for the non-profit Medical, Educational, and Development of Resources through International Exchange, MEDRIX.
According to WHO, the global platform of the Solidarity Trial is ready to rapidly evaluate promising new treatment options, with nearly 500 hospitals open as trial sites. Newer antiviral drugs, immunomodulators and anti-SARS COV-2 monoclonal antibodies are now being considered for evaluation.
According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering, CSSE, at Johns Hopkins University, the pandemic has killed 1,179,267 people worldwide.
In Costa Rica, the contagion of covid-19 continues causing deaths in the country, according to the Ministry of Health. On Thursday, the ministry reported the following updated statistics of the covid-19 contagion in the country:
• 1,017 new covid-19 cases, bringing the total to 40,547 active cases.
• 17,082 foreign-born people have been infected with a total of 107,570 cases since March, approximately 15.8% of the total cases. Of these, authorities confirmed the death of 32 foreign-born patients.
• 452 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 182 patients are in ICU’s in delicate health conditions (ages range from a 1-year-old to a 100-year-old). And 270 patients are in recovery rooms. Many of the remaining infected patients are quarantined in their homes.
• 65,666 coronavirus patients have fully recovered, which is a 61% recovery rate of the total cases since March.
• 1,357 deaths of people infected with covid-19, approximately 1.3% death rate of the total cases since March. Of these 522 women and 835 men. The ages range from a 9-year-old to a 100-year-old person.
Since Friday, Oct. 16, authorities stopped providing the updated statistics on people who have been ruled out and the number of medical covid-19 tests that have been made.
Readers can see the updated number of total
patients in each district at the National Distance
Education University on its Covid-19 Map.
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What are the drugs treatment for covid-19 patients in your country? We would like to know
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