Social Security will begin testing treatment for covid-19

In July, specialists from George Mason University, in Virginia, U.S.A., confirmed that the treatment developed by Costa Rican scientists, is
capable of inhibiting the infectivity of the SARS-Cov2 coronavirus, which produces the covid-19. - University of Costa Rica courtesy photo

Published Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Social Security will begin testing
treatment for covid-19

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The first batch of covid-19 treatment made by Costa Rican scientists has been delivered to Social Security

The medicine made with equine immunoglobulins developed by the Clodomiro Picado Research Institute of the University of Costa Rica could constitute an eventual treatment for patients with covid-19, announced the Social Security.

This first delivery was of 80 treatment units. The next step is to carry out the clinical research phase that will be developed in the Specialized Center for the Care of Covid-19 Patients, known as the Covid Hospital, at the San Juan de Dios, Mexico and Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia hospitals, announced Román Macaya-Hayes, president of Social Security.

The development of these antibodies demonstrates the great technical and the technological capacity that exists in our country, of our scientists, added Macaya.

The authorities are working on developing guidelines to implement in hospitals that will participate in this phase.

The goal is to give the patients a very strict follow-up that guarantees the evolution of the disease to try to confirm, with reliable statistical numbers, if the treatment developed by the scientists makes a favorable difference in the evolution of the disease.

"If these products prove their effectiveness and safety in the clinical research phase, we will have added a great tool in the approach to covid-19 pathology in Social Security hospitals," added Macaya.

It is estimated that in two weeks the treatment will be applied to patients.

According to Macaya, covid-19 is an acute disease, which means that results will be obtained very quickly, probably a month after the study begins.

In July, specialists from George Mason University, in Virginia, U.S.A., confirmed that the treatment developed by Costa Rican scientists, is capable of inhibiting the infectivity of the SARS-Cov2 coronavirus, which produces the covid-19.

Costa Rican scientists sent samples of the treatment to George Mason to obtain an alternative result of the effectiveness of the treatment against covid-19 in cells.

George Mason has one of the highest biosafety laboratories in the U.S. for testing live viruses in an environment with all the conditions of isolation and biosecurity. This allowed demonstrating that this plasma neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 and that it is 100 times more powerful than convalescent plasma obtained from humans, said the University in its statement.

"The results clearly demonstrate that the horses produced a large number of antibodies that block the entry of the virus into human cells," said Alberto Alape Girón, Ph.D., ICP-UCR researcher. "This indicates that the drug can be very efficient and that the amount that will be required to treat patients would be relatively low."

According to Carlos Araya, Director of the Costa Rican University, the treatment developed at the institute is applied to people infected with covid-19 preventing them from getting worse.

Given the successful results in the analyzes, both in Costa Rica and in the U.S., the human portion of the testing is meant to test its effectiveness.

The expectation is that the results match those expected by scientists. If successful, specialists hope to treat all hospitalized and infected patients sick with the virus in the country.

According to Macaya, president of Social Security, this is the first time in history that a clinical study of a product produced in Costa Rica will be done. The treatment "is going to help us lower the viral load so that (the patients) come out faster (from the hospital)."

Health authorities are racing against the time to find a cure for covid-19 while statistics have shown a fast increase in newly infected cases as well as deaths due to the virus.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the ministry provided the following statistics on the status of the virus in the country:

• 636 new covid-19 cases, bringing the total to 16,282 active cases. The ages of patients infected range from a three-month-old baby to a 100-year-old person.

• 6,414 foreign-born people have been infected of the 24,508 cases since March, approximately 26% of the total cases.

• 383 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 85 patients are in Intensive Care Units with delicate health conditions, 298 patients are in recovery rooms. Most of the infected patients are quarantined in their homes.

• 7,971 coronavirus patients have fully recovered, which is a 32.5% recovery rate.

• 71,066 people have been ruled out.

• 108,819 medical covid-19 tests have been made.

• 255 deaths of patients infected with covid-19 since March. Which is a 1% death rate. Of these 92 were women and 163 men. The ages range from 23 to a 99-year-old person.

On July 30, authorities reported 30 foreign-born people had died from covid-19 since March, at the time it was 22% of virus-related deaths. However, the ministry confirmed that they will not continue providing information on the number of foreign-born people who die from covid-19 in the country.

Readers can see the updated number of total patients in each district at the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map.

As of Tuesday night, the pandemic has killed 741,126 patients worldwide, according to recent statistics reported by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

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Should authorities expedite the guidelines development to start the treatment application soon? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com