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Health Check: Do the Covid-19 drugs work?

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A man swims in the icy water of a lake in the Houhai area of Beijing

2020/10/21 GMT

Do the Covid-19 drugs work?

BBC World Service - Health Check, Do the Covid-19 drugs work?

Remdesivir shown to be ineffective in global trial of drugs used to treat Covid-19

Do the Covid-19 drugs work?; success in treating infectious diseases before the pandemic; could outdoor swimming slow dementia?; and delivering  devastating news over the phone.

What’s the evidence behind the drugs used to treat President Trump? The results of a World Health Organisation trial following patient outcomes in 204 countries are in. Remdesivir and hydroxychloroquine fail to reduce mortality over a 28 day period. Interferon and lopinavir are also shown to be ineffective. Is this the end of the road for using these drugs to treat Covid-19? 

Some good news from another global health survey. Before the pandemic, our track record on treating other infectious diseases was impressive, contributing to a significant reduction in death rates in low and middle income countries. But the numbers of people suffering from non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes continues to rise putting us more at risk from Covid-19.      

Could outdoor swimming slow dementia? Hypothermia in mice prompts a promising response but it’s not so easy to study in humans. And how to deliver devastating health news over the phone. There are things doctors can do to help but nothing beats face to face communication when the news is distressing.  

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Anna Buckley

(Picture: A man swims in the icy water of a frozen lake in the Houhai area of Beijing, China. Photo credit: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images.)

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