Transcript
The federal government is announcing a plan for rationing remdesivir, the only drug so far that has shown some promise as a treatment for severe coronavirus patients.
The US Food and Drug Administration approved the drug earlier this month to increase access.
But the federal government’s distribution of the drug has been confusing as they have never explained how they decided which hospitals would receive remdesivir and how much.
Last week the government began distributing vials directly to hospitals and some states have not received the drug.
This is even in some of the most hardest-hit areas of the country.
And some hospitals that have received the drug are getting less than they need.
According to the drug’s maker, Gilead Sciences, there is only enough for about 100-thousand to 200-thousand patients.
In New York the federal government has given the state enough for 2,900 patients.
But there are about 7,262 coronavirus patients in New York hospitals.
The same situation is playing out around the country, putting hospitals in a tough position because they know they can’t treat every patient.
At a Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston they have about 200 patients with the virus and only enough remdesivir for 65 patients.
And more patients are being admitted every day and doctors don’t know when they’ll get more of the drug.
The Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston decided a hospital committee, not the patient’s doctor, decides who gets the drug.
Saturday the federal government said they’d also send it to some state health departments and they intend to eventually send it to all state health departments.
But they haven’t said how much they’ll send to each state or their formula for determining those amounts.
Posted – 5.12.20