The report on Tuesday of a powerful treatment for the new coronavirus brought scepticism along with optimism among US doctors, who said the recent withdrawal of an influential Covid-19 study left them wanting to see more data.
Global pressure to find a cure or vaccine has accelerated the process of reporting coronavirus study results, feeding confusion over whether therapies have been proven effective. One influential Covid study was withdrawn this month by The Lancet over data concerns.
Researchers in Britain said dexamethasone, used to fight inflammation in other diseases, reduced death rates of the most severely ill Covid-19 patients by around a third.
But hours later South Korea’s top health official cautioned about the use of the drug for Covid-19 patients.
“We have been burned before, not just during the coronavirus pandemic but even pre-Covid, with exciting results that when we have access to the data are not as convincing,” said Dr Kathryn Hibbert, director of the medical ICU at Massachusetts General Hospital.