UPMC Presbyterian Hospital Among Pennsylvania Hospitals Receiving Potential Coronavirus Treatment
HARRISBURG (KDKA) - Promising news in the fight against the coronavirus: the state recently received 1,200 doses of a medicine that appears to help COVID-19 patients.
What's even more exciting: that medicine made its way to Pittsburgh.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health says the antiviral medication remdesivir has been shipped to help hospitals across the state treat COVID-19 patients.
The health department says the federal government distributed the first shipment -- 1,200 doses of the investigational antiviral medication -- to Pa. Tuesday, and the entire allotment was sent out. Over the next few days, the state's shipment will arrive at 51 hospitals.
UPMC Presbyterian is among the hospitals that will receive the medication. It is the only hospital in the Pittsburgh area receiving the treatment.
"The virus cannot survive or replicate, in theory, when it's exposed to this drug," said Erin McCreary with UPMC.
Erin McCreary is an Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacist at UPMC Presbyterian. She says this drug is an exciting step forward, but there's still a lot of uncertainty.
The FDA says remdesivir may help decrease the amount of coronavirus in patients' bodies and help them get better faster.
"Hospital was allocated 18 vials of drug, which is enough medication to treat three patients for five days each," said McCreary.
"I do not know that the data says this is the end-all-be-all cure for this disease at this point in time. We eagerly await seeing the remaining data to come out."
There are a number of factors before a coronavirus patient gets the drug, such as the severity of that patient's illness and if they're on a ventilator. The drug is given to them through an IV.
The health department looks to get more doses of the medicine to more hospitals across the state.
More information on the Coronavirus pandemic:
