Argentina Receives 1st Batch Of Remdesivir To Treat COVID-19 Patients - Reports

BUENOS AIRES (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th July, 2020) Argentina has received the first batch of remdesivir, an antiviral drug that has shown to be safe and effective for treating COVID-19 patients, the TN broadcaster reported on Monday, adding that it would be used in 10 hospitals across the country.

According to the media outlet, all of the medical facilities are part of the Solidarity Trial project, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has been conducting since March. The trials involve more than 4,500 patients from around the world.

The chief scientist of the WHO, Soumya Swaminathan, told Sputnik earlier in the day that trials of remdesivir would continue for two more months, however, the UN health agency cannot definitively recommend the drug as effective against COVID-19 yet.

Countries can publish their own emergency recommendations but WHO does not have any official recommendation on the drug, as remdesivir does not appear to lower the fatality rate, according to Swaminathan,

Argentina has so far registered 77,815 COVID-19 cases, 1,523 deaths and 28,531 recoveries.