Another Drug Is Purported to Reduce Deaths Due to COVID-19; Is This One the Real Deal?

Several drugs (and even, dangerously, household cleaning products) have been put forth as possible preventive or curative agents for COVID-19. They’ve all been discredited for that purpose, ultimately, so far. Now, however, researchers in the UK are suggesting that a commonly used glucocorticosteroid may hold some promise. As part of the Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) trial, dexamethasone was shown to reduce death from COVID-19 by one third in ventilated patients and by one fifth in patients receiving oxygen only. Of note for urgent care providers: There was no benefit found for patients who were not sick enough to warrant respiratory support. The RECOVERY trial was established as a randomized clinical trial to test various potential treatment for COVID-19, registering a total of 11,500 patients from more than 175 National Health Service hospitals in the UK.