Coronavirus Updates- Dexamethason Prevents Covid-19 Deaths; Texas, Florida Hospitalizations Surge -
  • 4 years ago
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A low-cost, widely used anti-inflammatory drug improved survival in patients with Covid-19, the first treatment to show life-saving promise months into the pandemic.

Deaths among patients who needed breathing assistance were lower over a period of four weeks when they received the 60-year-old medicine dexamethasone, University of Oxford researchers said Tuesday. The study was stopped early because of its crucial findings.

Doctors and companies are scouring for treatments that can help patients survive the new coronavirus, which has killed more than 430,000 people worldwide. Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral remdesivir, which has approval to treat Covid-19, has only demonstrated the ability to shorten patients’ recovery.

An increasing number of people in Texas and Florida are being admitted to the hospital because of Covid-19, adding to concern that some of the most populous U.S. states are facing a new wave of illness after lifting lockdown orders.

Coastal states hit by the pandemic early are emerging from months of quarantine having largely flattened the curve of infection, but others whose governors resisted stringent measures are confronting daunting numbers. New cases are ticking up in more than 20 states, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

On Tuesday, Texas posted an 8.3% rise in hospitalizations to a record 2,518, the biggest daily increase since June 4, according to the state health department. The rolling seven-day average climbed to a record 2,243.

In Florida, cumulative hospitalizations rose by 191 to 12,206. On the seven-day basis, they reached 1,021, the highest since May 25.
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