UK experts say the low-dose steroid treatment is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus. It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth. The drug is part of the world's biggest trial testing existing treatments to see if they also work for coronavirus.
U.S. health care prices are unregulated, opaque and unpredictable. When Congress required insurers to cover Covid-19 testing, a few providers decided to take advantage.
As the world anxiously awaits development of a vaccine for COVID-19, new and controversial research measures are being considered for the first time. These include the possibility of deliberately exposing volunteers to the disease to see if they are infected.
A clinical trial in Great Britain has found that a cheap, widely available drug reduces deaths from coronavirus in severely ill patients on ventilators by one-third, which researchers hailed as a significant breakthrough.
“The second wave has begun,” said William Schaffner of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Even so, he said he “cannot imagine” a second shutdown following the economic, social and cultural impact of the first one. Other countries, however, have not shied away from reimposing measures. Last week, Beijing reportedly banned tourism and locked down 11 neighborhoods in response to infections related to a wholesale market.
The FDA ended Monday its emergency use authorizations for two controversial drugs, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, as a potential coronavirus treatment. Why it matters: Despite gaining President Trump's adamant support and use, the drugs have failed in several clinical trials and have been found to possibly cause serious heart problems.