Encouraging News on COVID Testing and Treatment

At NY Foot Health, we know that New Yorkers have been going through a long and stressful period dealing with all the challenges brought about by coronavirus. Intense research on the part of doctors and scientists, however, are beginning to yield positive results and will hopefully move us forward on the path to getting back to “normal” life safely sooner rather than later.

Potential Treatments

Promising news from a clinical trial conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) involving 1063 patients showed that the drug Remdesivir speeds the recovery for patients with advanced COVID-19 and may decrease the mortality rate as well. Patients given the drug showed a 31% quicker recovery which translated into 4 less days in the hospital.

In addition, Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine and other anti-viral drugs are being tested. Researchers are also looking at synthetic antibodies and using the plasma of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat patients.

Successful treatments will help relieve some of the anxiety of the pandemic and help bridge the time until a vaccine is available that offer immunity to the disease. Many companies are racing to find an effective vaccine, but the testing takes time. It is extremely important that adequate vaccine testing occur since it is a drug being injected into healthy people. A vaccine may be available by the end of the year or early in 2021.

Stepping Up Testing

Another encouraging avenue that will provide some measure of relief and speed the re-opening process in New York and the rest of the country is the development of anti-body testing. Having antibodies in the blood from the coronavirus means that a person has been exposed to the disease already (even if they did not have symptoms or were not extremely sick) and will have some degree of immunity. Many companies are working at warp speed to get effective anti-body tests on the market but experts caution that the tests have to be sufficiently tested for accuracy so that people do not erroneously believe they have immunity if they get a positive result.

We’re getting there, New York! Hang in a bit longer and remember, we are here for you. If you are experiencing any foot concerns at this time, we encourage you to contact your podiatrist (find one in your area by using our online directory. For more information, contact us.