CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As COVID-19 cases climb in the Carolinas, hospitals are turning to potentially life-saving treatment. Atrium Health said they've used the drug Remdesivir since it became available.
It's been used to shorten hospitalizations and reduce mortality rates for some patients.
Other states like Florida are now critically low on Remdesivir. So WCNC Charlotte checked in on the Remdesivir supply in Charlotte, and what impact it's having in the community.
Atrium infectious disease specialist Dr. Catherine Passeratti said Remdesivir is having promising results. It's meant for the sickest patients, but it's just one of several tools in the toolbox.
Atrium Health was among the first in the region to offer Remdesivir to patients.
"We have been using that pretty much as soon as the trial became available," Dr. Passeratti said.
Dr. Passeratti said early data shows promise that Remdesivir is helping "the sickest of the sick people."
It comes as several hospitals in Florida say they're critically low on Remdesivir. They want an expedited shipment of the drug, and a new distribution process to avoid backlogs they say could mean life or death in some cases.
"We've seen the numbers really grow in the last 14 days from 200 patients to 400 patients," CEO of Jackson Health System Carlos Migoya said.
Earlier this month, Dr. Passeratti talked about Atrium's Remdesivir supply, saying North Carolina was lucky to have an "increasing supply" at the time.
She said in some cases, steroids are combined with Remdesivir for best results.
"Remdesivir is an antiviral agent that kind of attacks the virus using that either in conjunction or separately with steroids which kind of calm down the immune system," Dr. Passeratti said.
Doctors are using what they can to save lives as they remain hopeful for a vaccine.
"It’s unlikely we will have a vaccine with significant distribution before at best early next year," Dr. Passeratti said.
Doctors in Charlotte said they're also using a technique to keep patients off ventilators when possible, which is to put them on their stomachs instead of their backs to improve oxygen flow.