Treating COVID-19 patients with Dexamethasone may have saved 1 million lives

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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 16: This photo shows a close-up of a bottle and tablets of Dexamethasone on 16 June 2020 in London, United Kingdom. Test results announced today have shown that Dexamethasone, a cheap and widely used steroid drug and used to reduce inflammation, reduced mortality rates by about a third of COVID patients -19 worst admitted to hospital. Studies have predicted that 5,000 lives could have been saved if the drug had been used to treat patients in the UK at the onset of the pandemic. (Photo by John Phillips / Getty Images)

Treating COVID-19 patients with Dexamethasone may have saved a million lives worldwide, according to NHS England.

The widely available and inexpensive steroid was found to reduce coronavirus deaths following a clinical trial at Oxford University nine months ago.

Since then it is estimated that 22,000 lives have been saved in the UK using the drug, with an estimated million worldwide.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 16: This photo shows a close-up of a bottle and tablet of Dexamethasone on 16 June 2020 in London, United Kingdom. Test results announced today have shown that Dexamethasone, a cheap and widely used steroid drug and used to reduce inflammation, reduced mortality rates by about a third of COVID patients -19 worst admitted to hospital. Studies have predicted that 5,000 lives could have been saved if the drug had been used to treat patients in the UK at the onset of the pandemic. (Photo by John Phillips / Getty Images)

Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the news as “a real success story for British research”

Dexamethasone, which has been used mainly for major allergies, skin problems, inflammation and autoimmune conditions, was administered to patients hospitalized for the novel coronavirus since June last year.

A clinical trial conducted by scientists at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, in the Rehabilitation study, found that dexamethasone can reduce hospitalized patient mortality with Covid-19 and oxygen and respiratory need by 18% and 36 % individually.

“Thanks to the invaluable work of the NHS team and patients, nearly a million lives could be saved worldwide,” said NHS Managing Director Sir Simon Stevens.

“Research that can take years to respond in an unprecedented amount of time – with results reverberating around the world,” he said.

“Just like the virus, treatments and vaccines are spreading across borders as a strategy for this pandemic to leave humanity,” the director concluded.

(Supported by Agencies)