U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams pleaded with Americans to grasp “the severity of the moment” and remain vigilant against the coronavirus pandemic, as record hospitalizations pushed healthcare professionals to the brink.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Covid-19 antibody therapy, an experimental treatment given to U.S. President Donald Trump that he said helped cure him of the disease.
Gilead’s remdesivir should not be used for patients hospitalized with Covid-19, regardless of how ill they are, as there is no evidence the drug improves survival or reduces the need for ventilation, a World Health Organization panel said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Emergency Use Authorization to a combination of Eli Lilly’s and Incyte’s rheumatoid arthritis drug Olumiant (baricitinib) and Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir as a treatment for hospitalized patients diagnosed with Covid-19 who require supplemental oxygen or ventilation.
The number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 in the United States jumped nearly 50% in a 14-day period, straining the nation’s healthcare system and forcing states to impose new restrictions to curb the alarming spread of the coronavirus.
The number of Covid-19 deaths in the United States crossed 250,000, according to a Reuters tally, as a third coronavirus wave brings a fresh surge in infections and puts immense strain on the healthcare system.
The U.S. death toll from Covid-19 surpassed a grim new milestone of 250,000 lives lost as New York City’s public school system – the nation’s largest – called a halt to in-classroom instruction, citing a jump in coronavirus infection rates.
U.S. hospitals, weighing high demand and tight supplies, said they may limit use of the new Eli Lilly and Co. nantibody drug bamlanivimab to Covid-19 patients with multiple risk factors for serious illness or to those whose immune systems have not begun to fight the infection.
Several U.S. governors, from the coastal states of New Jersey and California to the heartland of Iowa and Ohio, acted to restrict gatherings and boost face-coverings in confronting a coronavirus surge they warned is out of control.
The city of Philadelphia will ban indoor gatherings altogether and the nearby state of New Jersey will strictly limit their size as U.S. officials struggle to slow a Covid-19 surge that could overwhelm hospitals and kill thousands.