Geisinger receives shipment of promising drug, Remdesivir
DANVILLE – Earlier this week, the PA Department of Health said it was distributing 1,200 doses of the experimental drug, remdesivir, to dozens of hospitals across the commonwealth.
Geisinger is one of the hospitals to receive their first shipment this week and President/CEO, Dr. Jaewon Ryu, says four of their campuses received enough treatments for 3 patients at each site, totaling treatments for 12 patients, “We expect another shipment today and I think they’re going to continue to get that out. So, I think a good indicator of the fact that the science is emerging and we’re adding tools to our toolbox to battle this thing, and remdesivir is one of those tools.”
Dr. Ryu says remdesivir is the anti-viral medication that has shown some promising early evidence on faster recovery times and shorter hospital stays, “Now, what it didn’t study is whether mortality, the outcome of does someone live or die, is any better or worse. So, I think we have to take the results with a little grain of salt but that being said, it stands to reason that there’s some good evidence to suggest it’s effective.”
The federal Department of Health and Human Services is managing the distribution of the medication, along with state health departments, determining areas with the greatest need. You can hear his remarks at WKOK.com.
