Anti-viral drug remdesivir reduces risk of hospitalization in high-risk COVID-19 patients by 87% when given early
Trump was right!
Remdesivir reduces the risk of hospitalization and medical visits due to COVID-19 in high-risk patients, new data suggest.
California-based Gilead Sciences Inc, the maker of the antiviral drug, published the results of its Phase III clinical trial on Wednesday.
Researchers found patients treated with remdesivir were 87 percent less likely to be hospitalized and 81 less likely to require a medical visit than those who were given a placebo.
The team says the findings shows that remdesivir, the only drug fully approved to treat severely ill coronavirus patients, can also be used for those who are at-high risk of becoming seriously ill - but are still early on in their infection.
Remdesivir was developed Gilead to treat Ebola, the deadly fever that emerged in West Africa in 2014.
While it was unsuccessful in treating Ebola, the drug appears to interfere with the ability of the coronavirus to copy its genetic material.
In April 2020, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released results from a study that found remdesivir helped patients recover 31 percent faster.
This led to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issuing emergency use authorization for the drug the following month.
A few months later, in October 2020, the FDA fully approved the drug of the use in adults and in pediatric patients ages 12 to 17 who require hospitalization.
The new trial, however, shows that the treatment may also be effective in treating patients before they are hospitalized.
Researchers looked at 562 participants at high-risk of developing severe COVID-19, of whom half were given remdesivir and the other half a placebo.
After four weeks, 5.3 percent of the placebo group were hospitalized compared to 0.7 percent of the placebo group.
The team said that this suggests the medication reduces the risk of hospitalization by 87 percent.
Additionally, the trial looked at any patients who required medical visits due to COVID-19. day 28, 8.3 percent of the placebo group had sought medical care in comparison with 1.6 percent of the treatment group.
Researchers say this means the drug reduces the risk of a medical visit by 81 percent.
'Antiviral medications provide maximal benefit when used early in the disease course,' Dr Robert Gottlieb, principal investigator at Baylor University Medical Center and Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, said in a statement.
'We are seeing very high numbers of hospitalized patients as new COVID-19 infections surge, placing increased demands on already over-burdened healthcare systems.
'Remdesivir, also known as Veklury, is an effective antiviral for the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and an essential tool to help reduce disease progression.'
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HOW COVID AFFECTS MEN’S SEXUAL HEALTH
There’s no shortage of misinformation out there about the coronavirus, and some of the most pernicious claims swirl around vaccines and fertility. With apologies to Nicki Minaj, there is no credible scientific evidence that any of the COVID-19 vaccines cause impotence. However, there is now a wealth of data that shows getting infected with this virus can cause erectile dysfunction and other reproductive health problems for men.
Crucially, getting a vaccine is not the same thing as contracting a disease. Vaccines are designed to provoke an antibody response, and the ones approved or authorized for use in the U.S. don’t even contain dead or weakened versions of the virus. They instead use pieces of its genetic material to train the body’s immune system. (Pictured above, a man getting a rapid COVID-19 test.)
By contrast, coming down with COVID-19 allows the virus to replicate in your cells, and as Sharon Guynup reports this week, several studies show that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can invade tissues in the penis and testicles. As it happens, the testicles are a perfect hideout for a variety of viruses because they are immunologically privileged body parts, meaning they are shielded from the immune system. Once COVID-19 invades this region, it can hang out there indefinitely. “This may explain why 11 percent of men hospitalized with COVID-19 suffered testicular pain,” Guynup writes.
Other studies have found that men seem to be six times more likely to develop brief or long-term erectile dysfunction after contracting the virus. That’s likely because the coronavirus is known to attack blood vessels all over the body, and the penis relies on blood vessels to maintain an erection. Cells also become oxygen-deprived when blood vessels narrow, which means the surrounding tissues become inflamed and the vessels lose elasticity. “No oxygen, no sex,” says Emmanuele A. Jannini, a professor at the Tor Vergata University of Rome.
These kinds of health repercussions can be difficult to track because patients may be embarrassed or self-conscious. And it can be tough to report on them and not invite readers to dissolve into giggles with an unintentional pun. But this is serious science that deserves to be taken seriously. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, 10 percent to 30 percent of people infected with the virus—at least 42 million cases in the U.S. and 226 million worldwide—experience a range of ongoing symptoms collectively called long COVID. People can develop these debilitating symptoms even after a mild or asymptomatic infection. And the list includes several reproductive health problems for men, from sexual dysfunction and swollen testicles to mental health issues that decrease arousal.
Research is still in progress, and plenty of unknowns remain. But it’s clear enough by now that if you care about your reproductive health, you should be more worried about getting the virus than the vaccine. “The plausible relationship between COVID-19 and erectile dysfunction is one more reason for the unvaccinated to get their shots,” Jannini says. “If they want to have sex, better to get the vaccine.”
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/covid-19-may-impair-mens-sexual-performance
*************************************IN BRIEF
Supreme Court to hear oral arguments challenging Roe v. Wade on December 1 (Washington Examiner)
Justices will also weigh New York’s limit on carrying a handgun (Washington Times)
Democrats/Leftmedia mistake horse reins for “whips” in Border Patrol footage (Post Millennial)
Joe Biden’s agenda is hanging by a thread as Democrats threaten to tank two major bills (BuzzFeed)
Only 49% think Biden is mentally stable enough to be president (Breitbart)
Shades of Donald Trump: Biden administration asks Pentagon to send military to border (Washington Examiner)
Biden to raise refugee admissions cap to 125,000 (Washington Post)
CIA chief team member reported Havana syndrome symptoms during trip to India (The Hill)
North Korea’s nuclear program going “full steam ahead,” IAEA says (Reuters)
Stateside COVID death toll surpasses 1918 flu fatalities (Axios)
U.S. to ease travel restrictions for vaccinated foreign visitors (CNBC)
S&P 500 fell 1.7% on Monday for its worst day since May; Dow sheds 600 points (CNBC)
The great holiday supply chain shortage (Axios)
“Back to square one”: Justin Trudeau’s liberals win Canada election but missed the majority in parliament (AP)
UK court decides kids under 16 can take puberty-blocking drugs without court approval (Daily Signal)
Civil suit filed against Texas doctor who violated abortion ban in the first test of law’s constitutionality (Washington Examiner)
Emmy viewers call out hypocrite celebs for not wearing masks and social distancing (Fox News)
Here’s how Chuck Schumer is trying to gaslight the GOP on debt (Daily Beast)
Policy: Heaping on the SALT: Democrats press Biden to reinstate a tax break for the wealthy (City Journal)
Policy: Why Taiwan matters to the world (Heritage Foundation)
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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
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