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The Health Department received, last Tuesday, the medication remdesivir, antiviral that recently obtained authorization from the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use in hospitalized adults and children diagnosed with COVID-19.
In written statements, the agency confirmed tonight that the Federal Department of Health and Human Services notified him that the antiviral would be distributed among the states and territories.
Lorenzo González Feliciano, head of Health, commented that the medicine arrived on Tuesday in a limited way, since the quantity supplied is only enough to serve 36 patients. El Nuevo Día learned that patients urging this medication should receive several doses as part of hospital treatment.
According to González Feliciano, the Division of Medicines and Pharmacy of the Auxiliary Secretariat for Regulation and Accreditation of Health Facilities (Sarafs) developed an application form so that interested hospitals can acquire it.
“We are in the final process of reviewing the procedure and the documentation required to have the endorsement of the Hospital Association and the associations of infectious diseases and pneumologists of Puerto Rico and thus begin their distribution,” said the official.
He reiterated that the treatment will be available to patients who require it and are hospitalized, under the supervision of infectious diseases and pulmonologists, and at no cost to patients.
For his part, the infectologist at the Hospital Auxilio Mutuo, Miguel Colón, maintained that Salud received 400 doses of the drug, a figure that the agency did not confirm, and that it should be distributed to the drugstores to serve as liaisons with the hospitals.
“This medicine is designed for patients with moderate to severe disease, but does not lower mortality, but the days of hospitalization. It is for patients with less than 94% saturation or who need oxygen. We are going to give it to patients early to save lives, ”said Colón.
Colón warned that, after FDA approval, the federal government was asked to distribute the drug in all U.S. jurisdictions. For this reason, some arrived in Puerto Rico. “It is the only thing approved by the FDA right now (for COVID-19),” he said.
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