Pennsylvania receives first shipment of COVID-19 antiviral drug
Pennsylvania received its first shipment Wednesday of the antiviral drug named remdesivir, which has shown some success in treating patients with severe cases of COVID-19.
The federal government supplied the state with 1,200 doses of the drug that were distributed to 51 hospitals across Pennsylvania, state health Secretary Rachel Levine said.
“It’s not a cure,” Levine said.
She said the drug, which is administered intravenously, shortened the recovery time of severely ill COVID-19 patients in a recent clinical trial. That evidence is why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use of remdesivir to treat novel coronavirus cases, she said.
There was still limited evidence on the safety and effectiveness of the drug, Levine said.
Pennsylvania reported 137 new COVID-19 deaths Wednesday as Gov. Tom Wolf prepared to ease his stay-home order and allow most nonessential businesses to reopen Friday in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Residents of the 13 counties, including Washington and Greene, were still urged to wear face masks and practice social distancing in public, as well as stay at home as much as possible to help prevent a surge in new virus cases.
Washington County added one new case of the virus to its total, which reached 127 Wednesday, while the positive cases in Greene County remained that day at 27.
During questioning from the media Wednesday, Levine said she has asked hospitals in the state to review records to determine if they treated any children with symptoms like those that have caused deaths among the young in New York. To date, Pennsylvania has not verified any cases where children developed inflammatory blood vessels while testing positive for COVID-19.
“These children are very ill,” she said, referring to the New York cases.