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A12 HEALTH
Saturday 21 November 2020
Health experts clash over use of certain drugs for COVID-19

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE view, a nonprofit group
AP Chief Medical Writer that analyzes drug prices,
Health officials around the said remdesivir should be
world are clashing over the priced around $2,470 for
use of certain drugs for CO- hospitalized patients with
VID-19, leading to different moderate to severe dis-
treatment options for pa- ease because of the cost
tients depending on where savings from fewer days of
they live. care. However, it’s worth
On Friday, a World Health only $70 for patients hospi-
Organization guidelines talized with milder disease,
panel advised against us- the group concluded.
ing the antiviral remdesivir Price also may be driving
for hospitalized patients, lower demand. In October,
saying there’s no evidence U.S. health officials said that
it improves survival or hospitals had bought only
avoids the need for breath- about one-third of the dos-
ing machines. es of remdesivir that they
But in the U.S. and many were offered over the pre-
other countries, the drug vious few months, when the
has been the standard of drug was in short supply. Be-
care since a major, govern- tween July and September,
ment-led study found other In this Thursday Oct. 15, 2020 file photo, A bottle containing the drug Remdesivir is held by a 500,000 treatment courses
benefits — it shortened re- health worker at the Institute of Infectology of Kenezy Gyula Teaching Hospital of the University of were made available to
Debrecen in Debrecen, Hungary.
covery time for hospitalized Associated Press state and local health de-
patients by five days on av- partments but only about
erage, from 15 days to 10. Thursday’s news that the Thursday with a medical was larger but much less 161,000 were bought.
Within the U.S., a federal anti-inflammatory drug to- journal editor. Until the Na- rigorous than the U.S.-led In a separate develop-
guidelines panel and some cilizumab may help. Like tional Institutes of Health’s one that found it had other ment, the FDA on Thursday
leading medical groups the key WHO study on rem- guidelines endorse a treat- benefits. gave emergency autho-
have not endorsed two desivir, the preliminary re- ment, “I’m really reluctant The drug is given through rization to use of another
other therapies the Food sults on tocilizumab have ... to call that standard of an IV for around five days, anti-inflammatory drug,
and Drug Administration not yet been published care.” and its high cost and lack baricitinib, to be used with
authorized for emergency or fully reviewed by inde- Angus said there are legiti- of “meaningful effect” on remdesivir.
use -- Eli Lilly’s experimen- pendent scientists, leav- mate questions about all of mortality make it a poor Adding baricitinib shaved
tal antibody drug and ing doctors unclear about the drug studies. choice, the WHO panel an additional day off the
convalescent plasma, the what to do.“It’s a genuine “It’s not unusual for pro- concluded. average time to recovery
blood of COVID-19 survi- quandary,” said the Univer- fessional guidelines to dis- Gilead charges $3,120 for for severely ill hospitalized
vors. The groups say there sity of Pittsburgh’s Dr. Derek agree with each other, it’s a typical treatment course patients in one study.Lilly
isn’t enough evidence to Angus, who is involved in a just that it’s all under the mi- for patients with private sells baricitinib now as Olu-
recommend for or against study testing many of these croscope with COVID-19,” insurance and $2,340 for miant to treat rheumatoid
them. treatments. “We need to he said. people covered by gov- arthritis, the less common
Doctors also remain uncer- see the details.” The rift over remdesivir, sold ernment health programs form of arthritis that occurs
tain about when and when Dr. Rochelle Walensky, in- as Veklury, by Gilead Sci- in the U.S. and other devel- when a mistaken or over-
not to use the only drugs fectious disease chief at ences Inc., is the most seri- oped countries. In poor or reacting immune system
known to improve survival Massachusetts General ous. middle-income countries, attacks joints, causing in-
for the sickest COVID-19 Hospital, agreed. The WHO guidelines stress much cheaper versions are flammation. An overactive
patients: dexamethasone “It’s really hard to practice that the drug does not save sold by generic makers. immune system also can
or similar steroids. medicine by press release,” lives, based heavily on a This week, the Institute for lead to serious problems in
And things got murkier with she said on a podcast WHO-sponsored study that Clinical and Economic Re- coronavirus patients.q

U.S. adult smoking rate looks unchanged, vaping rate higher

By MIKE STOBBE ogy make it hard to com- million people.
AP Medical Writer pare that to the same That rate appears to be up
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. 14% reported for 2017 and from 3.2% in 2018 and 2.8%
decline in cigarette smok- 2018. The adult smoking in 2017. But again, officials
ing could be stalling while rate last saw a substantial said that comparing 2019
the adult vaping rate ap- drop in 2017, when it fell with earlier years is diffi-
pears to be rising, accord- from 16% the year before. cult because of the survey
ing to a government re- The new figures from the change.
port released Thursday. Centers for Disease Con- The CDC figures are based
About 14% of U.S adults trol and Prevention mean on responses from about
were cigarette smokers there are more than 34 32,000 people.
last year, the third year in million adult smokers in Health officials have long
a row the annual survey the U.S. Meanwhile, about called tobacco use the
This Dec. 17, 2019 photo shows a group of cigarettes in New found that rate. 4.5% of adults were count- nation’s leading cause of
York. About 14% of U.S adults were cigarette smokers last year, But health officials said a ed as current e-cigarette preventable disease and
for the third year in a row.
Associated Press change in the methodol- users last year — about 11 death.q