Days after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) dropped usage of convalescent plasma from recommended treatment protocol for Covid-19, Ganga Ram hospital Chairperson Dr. DS Rana has said that Remdesivir is also being considered to be dropped from Covid-19 treatment soon.
News agency ANI reported, “If we talk about other medicines which we use in COVID treatment, there is no such evidence regarding Remdesivir that works in Covid-19 treatment. Medicines that do not have any activity to work, will have to be discontinued”, said Dr Rana.
All the experimental medicines, be plasma therapy (which is now discontinued) or Remdesivir, all of them may be dropped soon as there is no such evidence of its functioning, Currently, only three medicines are working, he added.
He further told ANI that in plasma therapy, we give a pre-forwarded antibody to someone who has been infected before, so that the antibody can fight with the virus. Antibodies usually form when the coronavirus attacks, we have seen in the last year that giving plasma does not make any difference in the condition of the patient and other people. Also, it is not easily available. Plasma therapy was started on a scientific basis and has been discontinued on the basis of evidence.
On Wednesday, India recorded 4,529 deaths, the highest number ever in 24 hours, and 2.67 lakh fresh infections as a deadly second wave continues to affect lakhs every day in the country. Recent govt data revealed that only 2 percent of the entire Indian population has been struck by Covid-19 leaving the remaining 98 percent still vulnerable.