Missouri to receive more vials of antiviral drug being used to treat COVID-19
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Missouri is set to receive enough vials of a drug being used to treat COVID-19 to give to all of the state's ventilated residents, the state health department director said Thursday.
Dr. Randall Williams, head of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said the state will receive 1,800 vials of the drug remdesivir on Friday or Saturday. The comments came during Gov. Mike Parson's daily COVID-19 briefing.
Watch a replay of the news conference in the media player below.
Remdesivir is an antiviral drug that is in the early stages of being used to treat COVID-19 patients. While still experimental, it has shown promise in early studies.
The Missouri Hospital Association reported 115 COVID-19 patients on ventilators Thursday and 796 total hospitalized, Parson said.
Every patient needs six to 11 vials of the drug, depending on the severity of their illness, Williams said.
"We don’t have to prioritize," Williams said in answer to a question about how the drug would be distributed. "Everybody is going to get it, which is an amazing thing to say."
The state received a shipment of about 400 vials earlier this week, Williams said. Highway patrol troopers were waiting when the shipment arrived to take them to locations around the state.
Troopers will do the same when the new shipment arrives, he said. Only this time, the drug will go to all the hospitals that asked for it in a Missouri Hospital Association phone survey.
During the briefing Parson and state Director of Public Safety Sandy Karsten said teams are assessing damage from strong storms that hit parts of the state May 3-4. Depending on the assessments Parson might ask for a federal disaster declaration.
The storms killed one person in Bates County and wrecked public infrastructure and high-voltage lines operated by electric cooperatives, Karsten said. They spawned an EF-1 tornado in the Bootheel's New Madrid County and an EF-0 tornado in Carter County in southern Missouri.
The state has until early June to finish the assessment, Karsten said.
Parson touted legislative accomplishments from a session that was temporarily halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the bills he praised was one providing reciprocity in professional licenses for the spouses of military members and a measure being considered Thursday to expand absentee voting because of COVID-19.
The governor visited southeast Missouri on Thursday morning to see how the first phase of the state's recovery plan is being implemented.
The Department of Health and Senior Services announced Thursday that 175 people have tested positive for COVID-19 since Wednesday. Parson said Wednesday about 9 to 10 percent of the confirmed cases are active.
The state also reported 20 news deaths, one of the highest daily increases since the pandemic began.
