£5 Corona pill is a life saver
Virus drug helps dying patients on ventilators
A Life-saving coronavirus drug which costs just £5 per patient has been discovered by British scientists.
They say already widely available Dexamethasone can help save the lives of patients who are seriously ill with the disease.
An estimated 5,000 lives could have been saved if the drug had been available in Britain from the start of the pandemic.
Chief investigator Professor Peter Horby said: “This is the only drug so far that has been shown to reduce mortality and it reduces it significantly. It’s a major breakthrough.”
Tests showed it cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators and a fifth for those on oxygen. Scientists believe the lowdose steroid helps stop damage caused when the body’s immune system goes into overdrive as it tries to fight the virus.
For patients on ventilators it cut the death risk from 40% to 28%, and for those on oxygen from 25% to 20%.
The findings from the trial led by Oxford University suggest for every eight patients on ventilators the drug could save one life.
In patients on oxygen, one life is saved for every 20-25.
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said: “This is the most important trial result so far. It will save lives around the world.”
Lead researcher Professor Martin Landray said: “It costs in the order of £5 for a complete course of treatment in the NHS.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the drug can now be made available across the NHS.
He added: “We have taken steps to ensure we have enough supplies even in the event of a second peak.
“I am proud of these British scientists.”
The UK’S death toll climbed to 41,969 yesterday, up 233.