The U.S. Federal Drug and Food Administration (FDA) approved remdesivir to treat children for a COVID-19 infection. It can be administered to patients as young as 28 days old who weigh about seven pounds. This is the first approved drug to treat COVID-19 in those under 12.
Remdesivir is an injection. A child must be hospitalized or have a mild to moderate infection and be at high risk for a severe COVID-19, whether or not they are in the hospital to be eligible for treatment, reports CNN.
Since there is no FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccination for children under five years old, and the coronavirus can cause severe illness in young children, the approval of the first therapeutic for those under 12 demonstrates the FDA’s commitment, said the director of the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Dr. Daniel Griffin agrees with the FDA’s approval of remdesivir. It is “a very effective antiviral, added the doctor, an instructor in clinical medicine and associate research scientist in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University. Remdesivir is great at preventing a patient from developing a severe COVID-19 illness. In addition, using this drug early in the infection lowers the risk of hospitalization or death.
Gilead’s antiviral was the first therapeutic the FDA endorsed for the treatment of the coronavirus in October 2020. When Veklury was first approved, it was for patients aged 12 and older hospitalized with severe COVID. The FDA expanded remdesivir authorization to include at-risk patients three months ago.
Written by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
CNN: FDA approves remdesivir to treat young children with Covid-19; by Jamie Gumbrecht and Jacqueline Howard
Fierce Pharma: FDA expands approval of Gilead’s Veklury, providing young children their first COVID treatment option; by Kevin Dunleavy
Becker’s Hospital Review: FDA approves 1st COVID-19 treatment for young children; by Cailey Gleeson
Featured and Top Image by Dilan Bozyel Courtesy of The Rainbow Museum’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of RinMuna’s Pixabay Page – Creative Commons License
