Covid: Dexamethasone proves 1st life-saving drug

The study will test if it is well-tolerated and produces an effective immune response against contagion

Claiming the first major breakthrough in the fight against novel coronavirus, British scientists have said that a cheap and widely available steroid can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with the deadly virus.

Dexamethasone, they said, can reduce Covid-19 deaths by one-third in severely ill patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.

Dexamethasone reduces inflammation and lowers the body's immune response and is used with other drugs to treat different types of cancer.

“Dexamethasone is the first drug to be shown to improve survival in Covid19. This is an extremely welcome result. The survival benefit is clear and large in those patients who are sick enough to require oxygen treatment, so Dexamethasone should now become standard of care in these patients. Dexamethasone is inexpensive, on the shelf, and can be used immediately to save lives worldwide,” said Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases in the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, and one of the chief investigators for the trial.

This is the first evidence that a drug can improve survival. Earlier, several other measures such as convalescent plasma therapy etc were also being tried to save lives but none have been found to be as effective.

This is the first evidence that a drug can improve survival. Earlier, several other measures such as convalescent plasma therapy etc were also being tried to save lives but none have been found to be as effective

London, June 16: Clinical researchers began human trials this week of a Covid19 vaccine developed by scientists at Imperial College London. The study, which involves a set of people being immunised with the vaccine, will be the first time it has been trialled in humans and will test whether it is welltolerated and produces an effective immune response against Covid-19.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed thousands of lives and had a huge impact on daily life. In the longterm, a viable vaccine could be vital for protecting the most vulnerable, enabling restrictions to be eased and helping people to get back to normal life,” said Professor Robin Shattock, Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial who is leading the work.

“From a scientific perspective, new technologies mean we have been able to get moving on a potential vaccine with unprecedented speed. We’ve been able to produce a vaccine from scratch and take it to human trials in just a few months — from code to candidate — which has never been done before.

“If the vaccine provides effective protection against disease, it could revolutionise how we respond to disease outbreaks in future,” he said. The researchers expect to publish findings once the safety data are available and are hopeful a viable vaccine could be available in the first half of 2021.

They say the vaccine has undergone rigorous pre-clinical safety tests and in animal studies it has been shown to be safe and produced encouraging signs of an effective immune response. Imperial College London said its vaccine candidate is being developed and trialled as a result of a £41-million UK government funding and a further £5 million in philanthropic donations.