Remdesivir has little or no effect on the survival of COVID-19 patients.

Remdesivir is reported to have minimal or nill effect on COVID-19 patients, as it did not reduce the hospitality time and mortality rate.

Remdesivir is reported to have minimal or nill effect on COVID-19 patients, as it did not reduce the hospitality time and mortality rate.Scientists worldwide are testing whether drugs previously developed to treat other viral infections might also be effective against COVID-19. One drug that has received a lot of attention is the antiviral drug Remdesivir manufactured by Gilead Sciences, Inc. The drug appears to be effective in the laboratory trials in protecting cells against infection by the coronavirus. In October 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the antiviral drug Remdesivir to treat certain patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The FDA based its decision on three randomized controlled trials. Results from this trial show that Remdesivir reduced the length of hospital stay.

However, a large study conducted as part of the World Health Organisation Solidarity trial found that treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients with Remdesivir did not significantly reduce their risk of death or shorten the length of their hospitalizations. Further, WHO said that currently, the corticosteroid dexamethasone is the only drug shown to be effective against COVID-19, also decreased the risk of dying in very ill hospitalized patients. Many doctors, including those in the United States, have been treating very ill COVID-19 patients with corticosteroids since the pandemic began. It makes biologic sense for those patients who have developed a hyper-immune response (a cytokine storm) to the viral infection.

Meanwhile, FDA has said that the antiviral drug Remdesivir may be used to treat adult and pediatric patients who have been hospitalized for COVID-19. Also, clinical trials assessing the safety and efficacy of Veklury in this pediatric patient population are ongoing.

Remdesivir also has side effects. It can cause Elevated Liver Enzymes, which could be a sign of liver damage. The most common side effect is nausea.

Hence Remdesivir isn’t effective against COVID-19. As of now, there is no specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat COVID-19. Other antiviral drugs are also being tested to see if they might be effective against the virus that causes COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.