For the first time, a major study has found that an experimental drug works against the new coronavirus, and U.S. government officials said Wednesday that they would work to make it available to appropriate patients as quickly as possible.
In a study of 1,063 patients sick enough to be hospitalized, Gilead Sciences’s remdesivir shortened the time to recovery by 31% — 11 days on average versus 15 days for those just given usual care. The drug also might be reducing deaths, although that's not certain from results of the study so far.
“What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus,” the National Institutes of Health's Dr. Anthony Fauci said.
“This will be the standard of care,” and any other potential treatments will now have to be tested against or in combination with remdesivir, he said.
People are also reading…
About 8% of those on the drug died versus 11.6% of the comparison group, but the difference is not large enough for scientists to say that remdesivir was the reason.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump says the federal government’s coronavirus social distancing guidelines will be “fading out” when they expire on Thursday, counting on states taking charge as they move toward reopening.
In other developments:
- The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8% annual rate last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country and began triggering a recession that will end the longest expansion on record. Amid the economic fallout, the Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that it will keep its key short-term interest rate near zero for the foreseeable future.
- New York’s empty streets have reinforced the idea of the coronavirus as an urban contagion, but statistically, you may be more likely to have the virus if you live in the suburbs. Several counties outside the five boroughs have higher infection rates than densely populated Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
- Two guards at an immigration detention center in Louisiana have died after contracting the coronavirus, raising new questions about whether the U.S. government is adequately protecting 30,000 immigrants in custody and the staff guarding them.
- Uncertainty in planning for the coronavirus pandemic has left the globe dotted with dozens of barely used or unused temporary field hospitals. Some public officials say that’s a good problem to have.
- Records reviewed by The Associated Press show that an exclusive group of Texans stood to benefit when the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, urged a small Colorado county to reverse a public health order during the coronavirus outbreak. The Texans who own property in the county include a Dallas donor and college classmate who helped Paxton launch his run for attorney general, among other Paxton contributors.
For more summaries and full reports, please select from the articles below. Scroll further for helpful tips, charts tracking testing and more.
This coverage is being provided free as a public service to our readers during the coronavirus pandemic. Please support local journalism by subscribing.
