Wyoming has received a limited supply of a drug that has shown some promise in the treatment of coronavirus symptoms, the state’s health officer has announced.
Dr. Alexia Harrist, speaking during a news conference Wednesday, said the state had received a shipment of Remdesivir, a drug that has had some success in speeding recovery from coronavirus.
Harrist said the drug will only be available to seriously ill patients who are already in the hospital. Health care providers seeking the drug must contact the Department of Health to apply for it.
“In order to ensure that Remdesivir is available to severely ill patients, (the Wyoming Department of Health) asks that providers request the medication for patients who have laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, who are worsening despite supportive measures or are unlikely to improve with supportive measures alone, and who are likely to require hospitalization for at least five days, the length of the shortest possible course of treatment,” Harrist said.
According to the memo, the state received 200 vials of the drug, enough to treat 18 to 33 patients, depending on the dosage used.
Harrist said the state has been told that it can expect the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ship more of the drug to Wyoming.
“But we do not have details of when or how much we will receive,” she said.
