Medical Practitioner in the Department of Surgery, Anaethesia and Intensive Care at the UWI, Dr. Kelvin Metalor says Remdesivir is the most promising treatment drug for COVID-19 at this time.
He was speaking during a UWI teleconference about this and a number of popular drugs to include hydroxychlroquine that have been in the news since the COVID-19 crisis.
The conference was streamed live on YouTube yesterday.
Dr. Metalor says a large trial is currently underway looking at the usage of Remdesivir.
Meanwhile, the drug Interferon Alpha 2-B was one of the first drugs to be reported in Jamaica as a possible treatment for the new coronavirus.
The Ministry of Health has recently indicated that it has rejected the use of the drug.
Dr. Metalor says the side effects of Interferon limits it usage.
He also says the drug is not recommended for use by the World Health Organisation or the Centres for Disease Control.
Dr. Metalor says contradicting studies are still creating uncertainty about whether or not hydroxychloroquine can be used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Kelvin Metalor, Medical Practitioner in the Department of Surgery, Anaethesia and Intensive Care at the UWI.
The nation’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jacqueline Bisasor McKenzie says the anti-malarial drug will not be used to treat COVID-19 patients.
In the meantime, Dr. Metalor says there’s been a change in the usage of ventilators. There’ve been lots of conversations suggesting that ventilators are a life-saving part of COVID-19 treatment
He says this had led the medical practitioners to be a bit more cautious in how they use ventilators.
Dr. Kelvin Metalor, Medical Practitioner in the Department of Surgery, Anaethesia and Intensive Care at the UWI.
