Asthma inhaler could help tackle Covid-19
Treating Covid-19 patients at home with a commonly used inhaled steroid called budesonide can speed up their recovery, according to UK trial results.
Doctors said it could change the way the disease is treated. Researchers behind the trial, known as PRINCIPLE, said the findings were only an interim analysis at this stage but could lead doctors to prescribe budesonide inhalers to Covid-19 patients who are not unwell enough to be admitted to hospital.
“For the first time, we have high-quality evidence of an effective treatment that can be rolled out across the community for people who are at most risk of developing more severe illness from Covid-19,” said trial co-leader Prof Richard Hobbs of the University of Oxford.
“This is a significant milestone for this pandemic.” Budesonide is used to treat common lung diseases such as asthma.
Invented in the 1970s, it is cheap, safe and can be prescribed by family doctors to be taken at home.
Abu Dhabi’s Hope Consortium further expanded a vast freezer farm built to store crucial Covid-19 vaccines at ultra-cold temperatures.
Abu Dhabi Ports took delivery of an additional 32 ultra-cold freezers at its advanced 19,000 square metre cold and ultra-cold storage centre in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, raising the number of units to 53.
The massive warehouse was already central to the mission of the Hope Consortium, an industry grouping established to deliver Covid-19 vaccines around the globe.
Other members of the vital task force include the Department of Health Abu Dhabi, Etihad Cargo and SkyCell.
The new equipment boosts the facility’s ultra-cold storage capacity – which keeps vials at temperatures of minus 80°C – from four million to 11.4 million doses.
This will allow the consortium to distribute more vaccines at the required temperatures.
The Hope Consortium aims to deliver billions of Covid-19 vaccine doses around the world by the end of the year.
“By delivering wellplanned logistics solutions hand-in-hand with a diversified vaccine supply chain, Abu Dhabi is ensuring a smooth flow of life-saving vaccines around the world to those who need them most,” said Mohamed Al Shamisi, group chief executive of Abu Dhabi Ports and chairman of the consortium’s executive committee.
The major push to tackle Covid-19 around the world is taking place amid a recent decline in infections across the Emirates.
The UAE recorded 1,928 new coronavirus infections yesterday, the fourth day running that daily numbers remained below 2,000.
The latest cases brought the country’s overall tally to 485,675.
Another 1,719 people beat the virus, taking the number of recoveries to 470,175.
Two more people died from Covid-19, increasing the death toll to 1,533.
Active cases stood at 13,967.
A further 139,896 tests were conducted.
More than 40.4 million tests have been carried out nationwide since the outbreak began.
Another 32,479 doses of coronavirus vaccine were administered, increasing the overall number to beyond nine million.