Remdesivir not a 'magic bullet', no data to suggest it will save lives: AIIMS Director

Amid reports of shortage and subsequent black marketing of Remdesivir, a drug that is said to be effective in treating coronavirus patients, AIIMS Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria on Wednesday said that there is no data that suggests that Remdesivir taken in mild disease will save lives or will have any benefit and appealed to citizens not to consider it a 'magic bullet'.

Addressing issues related to COVID-19 along with Dr Devi Shetty, Chairman, Narayana Health and Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman, Medanta through video conferencing, Dr Guleria said that if people work together and use oxygen and Remdesivir judiciously then there will be no shortage anywhere. 

"As a country, if we work together, use oxygen and Remdesivir judiciously, then, there will be no shortage anywhere whether we talk of Maharashtra, Delhi, Chhattisgarh or any state. In terms of the number of people who need oxygen and oxygen supply, we are well balanced," he said. 

"But if you suddenly start hoarding oxygen, even if you don`t need it. Then obviously you will have a deficiency that is self-created, rather than actually existing. My appeal to people is don`t take oxygen if it is not required," he added.

Dr Guleria also urged people not to take oxygen if it is not required by them and noted that taking oxygen intermittently "is an absolute waste" of the gas.

Noting that there's no data suggesting that Remdesivir will save lives when taken in mild disease, he said only a small percentage of people will require it.

"It is important to understand that most of us who are either in home isolation or even in hospitals because of panic don`t need any specific treatment. Like you treat simple cold, you can get away with treating cold with the majority of people taking just paracetamol and keeping yourself well hydrated," he said.

"It`s only a small percentage which will require drugs like Remidesivir and there is no data which suggests that Remidesivir taken in mild disease will save lives or will have any benefit. The data for Remdesivir does not show, it decreases mortality, it only has been shown to decrease hospital state," he added.

India reported close to 3 lakh new COVID-19 cases and 2,023 deaths on Wednesday, a record-high since the pandemic broke.