An experimental antiviral treatment for people very sick with the coronavirus is showing promising results.
NBC News reported the drug, remdesivir, has shown very preliminary signs of working within 24 hours after the first dose.
"It basically stops the production of the virus," Dr. Gregory Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group in Rochester, Minnesota, told the network news.
President Donald Trump mentioned the treatment during his press briefing on Thursday while announcing health officials are removing barriers in an effort to roll out various treatments quickly.
Two patients who received remdesivir reported feeling better the following day, according to NBC News.
He was really sick," Susan Kane said of her husband Chris, who had been hospitalized in Everett, Washington. "They put him on oxygen right away.”
Doctors decided to try remdesivir after it had shown encouraging results in treating an unidentified man who recently returned to his Washington home after visiting China.
Susan Kane said the remdesivir appeared to work quickly for her husband, as well.
"On the very next day, he said: 'You know, I think it's lifting. I think I'm starting to feel better,'" she recalled.
Chris Kane has now been released from the hospital and is continuing to improve, his wife said.
The National Institutes of Health announced last month the University of Nebraska Medical Center has started a clinic trial to test the safety and effectiveness of remdesivir in adults who have coronavirus.
Patients who have been hospitalized and show at least moderate symptoms of the virus will be eligible for the trial.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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