Remdesivir, an experimental drug found useful in shortening the duration of COVID-19, is being allocated to those regions hardest hit by the pandemic. According to an announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the federal government began distributing cases of the drug donated by manufacturer Gilead Sciences, Inc., to 13 states last week. State health departments will distribute the drug to hospitals. “Health care providers interested in administering the donated experimental drug should contact their state health department. Candidates for the donated doses must be patients on ventilators or on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or who require supplemental oxygen due to room-air blood oxygen levels at or below 94 percent,” the announcement stated. The decision to let states determine which hospitals receive the drug appeared to follow concerns about initial allocation decisions. (HHS news release, 5/9/20)
