PTF allows clinical trial for new COVID-19 drug

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on Thursday said it will give a go- ahead to clinicians to add the new drug recently discovered by a team of researchers from the United Kingdom to their treatment regimen for trial.

Described as a life-saving breakthrough by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the drug – dexamethasone- has proven to significantly reduce deaths due to COVID-19, especially among critically ill patients requiring oxygen or ventilator support.

Speaking during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, in Abuja, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said: “I did mention that there is a medicine that we are going to ask our clinicians to try. It is not a medicine that you should be using but a medicine that the doctor is to use.

“Luckily this medicine is not new and it is well-known to be used for other purposes as a steroid. It was found to be useful in this case. It is easy to try it out because we know the side effects. Also, the usual dosage is well-known and it is not a medicine that is terribly expensive or unavailable.

“We are going to ask our clinicians to also consider adding it for their trials and see what results it works in our own circumstances for this particular problem.”