Coronavirus: US starts distributing Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug to states most in need
- US government begins shipping experimental drug remdesivir to six states including New Jersey and Illinois
- Remdesivir vials also marked for donations to health authorities overseas
The US government began distributing remdesivir, an experimental drug recently approved for emergency use against Covid-19, to areas of the country struggling the most with the disease.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) arranged for some 600,000 vials of Gilead Sciences’ antiviral medication, shown to reduce recovery times for some patients, to be shipped to health authorities in New Jersey, Illinois, Michigan and three other states, to treat an estimated 78,000 hospitalised Covid-19 patients, said in an announcement on Saturday.
The shipments started on Thursday and will continue for the next six weeks, according to HHS. Gilead Sciences is donating another 900,000 vials of the medication worldwide.
“State health departments will distribute the doses to appropriate hospitals in their states because state and local health departments have the greatest insight into community-level needs in the Covid-19 response, including appropriate distribution of a treatment in limited supply,” HHS said.
