Coronavirus: More Remdesivir Arrives As Cases, Deaths Mount

ATLANTA, GA — More than 300 coronavirus patients at 29 hospitals statewide will be treated with a new allotment of the drug remdesivir, which is being distributed by the Georgia Department of Public Health, the agency announced this week.

State health officials announced that 3,340 vials of the medicine will be sent to hospitals within the Navicent, Northside, Piedmont and WellStar health systems, which will provide enough of the drug to treat 310 patients, depending on the duration of the individual’s illness in treatment needs.

In addition, a third allotment of remdesivir in powder form is expected to arrive in Georgia on Friday, health officials announced. The liquid form of the drug is not recommended for pediatric patients but the powder form can be mixed for doing purposes depending on the patient’s weight.

Remdesivir is an antiviral medicine being used to treat hospitalized patients with serious symptoms caused by COVID-19 like low oxygen levels or pneumonia. It has been found to shorten the duration of disease in patients being treated in inpatient hospital settings. Remdesivir is given intravenously (IV) and decreases the amount of coronavirus in the body, helping patients recover faster.

The new shipment of the medicine is being distributed as 722 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus were announced, along with an additional 29 more deaths statewide by the Georgia Department of Public Health.

As of Friday, the state is reporting 40,127 cases and 1,783 deaths. It marked the second straight day at least 700 new cases were announced.

On Friday, Fulton County reported 3,893 cases and 193 cases while 3,059 cases and 97 deaths were reported in DeKalb County. In Gwinnett County, health officials are reporting 2,913 cases and 121 deaths while Cobb County reported a total of 2,627 positive cases and 138 deaths.

State health officials are report that since the pandemic set in, 7,313 people statewide have been hospitalized, including 1,658 in intensive care units.

The new numbers were released on a day when Vice President Mike Pence is visiting Atlanta and when 23 new drive-up testing sites opened up at CVS Pharmacy locations around the state.