The Ohio Department of Health (ODH), and the Ohio Hospital Association (OHA), will work together to distribute remdesivir across Ohio that was received from the federal government on Tuesday, May 12.
The Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA), has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for remdesivir to allow it to be administered to patients. It is currently being studied in treatment of COVID-19 in clinical trials and has been found to shorten the duration of disease from 15 to 11 days in patients being treated in-patient hospital settings.
Ohio has received an allotment of 20 cases of remdesivir which is estimated for about 100 patients. How to distribute the drug was decided by the clinical leaders of the geographic zones that were created to help Ohio with this pandemic response. The decision was based on the percentage of mechanically ventilated patients; which deems them to have the highest severity level.
“This is not a cure, but early signs indicate that it can help in the treatment of COVID-19,” said ODH Director Amy Acton, M.D., MPH. “Ohio’s allocation is not enough to treat all patients, so we are working with medical experts to ensure distribution is based on clinical best practices.”
Remdesivir is administered intravenously and in two courses depending on the severity of disease. Patients will receive either a 5-day (6-dose) course or a 10-day (11-dose) course, as clinically indicated.
