#Remdesivir being surged to coronavirus hot spots, FDA commissioner says

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Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration Stephen Hahn
AP

The US government is sending a “surge” supply of coronavirus drug remdesivir to areas that need it most, the FDA commissioner said Sunday.

Dr. Stephen Hahn told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the Department of Health and Human Services will hand out the medication “to the areas that most need it.”

“We have been in touch with the states and the localities to surge remdesivir to the areas that most need it,” Hahn said.

“And we are receiving that feedback and then shipping remdesivir, so that it’s available for people who need it.”

Researchers have found the drug can speed recovery in COVID-19 patients.

Some Sun Belt states, including Florida and Texas, have recently seen an increase in coronavirus cases, which Hahn called “a concerning trend.”

“This virus is still with us,” Hahn said, adding that “this is why the public health message about how to protect yourself and others is so important.”

But, he said, the US is in a “fundamentally different place” than it was in March or April, in part thanks to drugs like remdesivir.

“We have new therapeutics that we didn’t have at the time, so treatments, remdesivir, steroids, and this plasma program, where over 28,000 people have been treated,” he said.

“So, those are the sort of things that are different,” he continued. “More testing capacity, more therapeutics and those things are, so fundamentally different, but still a concerning trend.”

He added that: “Really, we can stop this by following the guidelines.”