A small trial testing an experimental antiviral drug is giving researchers reason for cautious optimism as they search for a treatment for COVID-19.
The drug, called remdesivir, was initially developed by biotechnology company Gilead to treat the Ebola virus. It didn’t have great success against Ebola, but later trials revealed it could stop coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS from replicating. Shortly after COVID-19 began circulating, researchers began to wonder whether it could do the same for the novel coronavirus.
It’s too soon to say for sure whether remdesivir can help COVID-19 patients, but the early results are promising. In a video first obtained by STAT, researchers from the University of Chicago said that, in a trial of 125 COVID-19 patients taking remdesivir (113 of whom had significant breathing trouble when they joined the study), most of them got well enough after 10 days of treatment to be released from the hospital, and only two died. That news follows the publication of a small New England Journal of Medicine study last week that followed 53 COVID-19 patients taking remdesivir. After 10 days, almost 70% of those patients had improved by some amount, and almost 60% of those who needed mechanical ventilation no longer did.
Still, it’s important to note that both of these findings are preliminary, and the Chicago researchers have not yet published their results in a peer-reviewed journal. Remdesivir is also not yet approved to treat any disease in the U.S. TIME senior health writer Alice Park, who covered the findings today, says they’re “encouraging,” but need to be interpreted carefully.
“We won’t really know how effective any new therapy like remdesivir is against COVID-19 until the more rigorous studies, which are ongoing, are completed in coming months,” Park says.
Well over 665,000 people in the U.S. had contracted COVID-19 as of 8 PM eastern time on April 16, and almost 33,000 had died from it.
Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced a three-phase blueprint meant to help states reopen their stalled economies. Under the plan, states could gradually start moving back toward normal once they see a sustained drop in new infections and have testing and treatment of sick people under control. They could then transition from aggressive social distancing to a middle ground where travel and small social gatherings are allowed, but some isolation guidelines remain in place. The final phase would allow life to return mostly to normal, with a sustained focus on identifying and isolating new COVID-19 infections.
While Trump said states with relatively few cases could start putting plans in place “literally tomorrow,” he said hard-hit states like New York (which on Thursday extended its social-distancing guidelines through May 15) should not make any changes yet. After only a few days ago emphasizing that he had control over economic reopening, Trump said governors would be able to call their own shots.
Then, today, Trump critiqued state responses on Twitter. “The States have to step up their TESTING!” he tweeted earlier this afternoon. In a separate tweet, he added that New York Gov. Andrew “Cuomo ridiculously wanted ’40 thousand Ventilators.’ We gave him a small fraction of that number, and it was plenty. State should have had them in stockpile!”
The Global Situation
More than 2.1 million people worldwide had been sickened by COVID-19 as of 8 PM eastern time on Thursday, April 16, and more than 143,000 had died.
Here is every country with over 20,000 confirmed cases, as of Thursday 8 PM eastern time:
As the threat of COVID-19 begins to subside in Europe, countries including Italy, Germany, France and Spain are slowly implementing plans to lift lockdowns. But many people, particularly health care workers, are wary of a possible second wave of cases. “I’m terrified of the country reopening,” Italian pulmonologist Dr. Roberto Tonelli told TIME video producer Francesca Trianni. “I understand the economy needs to restart, but I already see parks and streets full of people, and I can’t help but worry.” Many lower-income nations are walking an even narrower tightrope, without the resources to either fully contain and manage a pandemic or sustain long-term economic shutdowns.
Even in wealthier countries, the consequences of an imperfect response are clear. A leading public-health expert said Friday that the U.K. could see as many as 40,000 coronavirus-related deaths, due to governmental mismanaging of viral testing and tracking. Already, more than 13,500 people there have died.
In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro, who has downplayed the severity of COVID-19, fired health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta, who argued for more dramatic isolation measures. Almost 2,000 people in Brazil had died from COVID-19, as of Thursday evening, according to official records.
And finally, a U.S.-Russian space crew touched down in Kazakhstan today, welcomed back to a world on lockdown after a spell on the International Space Station.
All numbers are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of April 16, 8 PM eastern time. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
How Trump’s WHO Funding Freeze Will Affect Vulnerable Countries
When Trump decided to end U.S. financial support for the World Health Organization, he indirectly put the health care systems of the world’s most vulnerable nations at risk. Read more here.
What Went Wrong in the U.K.?
As some European countries begin to lift lockdown measures, the U.K. is extending its isolation orders. It has no choice, writes TIME reporter Billy Perrigo from London: early blunders and misguided governmental responses have put the U.K. in a dangerous position. Read more here.
Margaret Atwood on Defining Your Own Post-Coronavirus Future
Think about all the things you hope will still be around after the COVID-19 pandemic—and then do everything in your power to ensure their success, urges author Margaret Atwood in an essay for TIME. Read more here.
Why Ventilators Aren’t Working Like Doctors Hoped
Ventilators are in high demand for COVID-19 treatment—but some doctors have serious concerns that they might do more harm than good. Read more here.
5 Ways to Take Care of Your Mental Health, According to Shawn Mendes
Exercise, meditation and social support are all crucial to well-being, writes singer and mental health advocate Shawn Mendes—but so is letting yourself tap into your feelings, negative or positive. Read more here.
The Science Behind Your Weird Coronavirus Dreams
There’s a reason you’re having particularly vivid dreams (and nightmares) right now. Read more here.
‘Dear Parents: You’re Doing a Better Job Than You Think’
If you don’t believe it yourself, take comedian Samantha Bee’s word for it. Read more here.
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