One of the famous action Hollywood actors, Mel Gibson, admits he had been diagnosed with positive coronavirus disease in April. With serious medications and a healthy lifestyle, the actor said to survive from the viral disease. Most importantly, Gibson may have survived from the virus after taking this specific drug you must have heard already-- the United States anti-viral vaccine called remdesivir.
Mel Gibson survives from COVID-19
On Friday, July 24, the New York Times reported that Mel Gibson was among the actors today who acquired coronavirus.
The famous actor and director started hospitalization four months ago. According to his representatives, the 64-year-old actor spent a week in a private hospital in California. This is where he was introduced to the U.S. anti-viral drug called remdesivir.
Reports have shown that remdesivir drug was the main reason behind the fast recovery of the actor. As explained, Gibson has been taking the drug since the day he was discovered with the disease. After quite some time, coronavirus suddenly wipes away from his blood, which resulted in negative tests after he has diagnosed-- all thanks to remdesivir.
Does 'remdesivir' actually work?
The U.S-based drug remdesivir has been heard in all countries. So far, this drug is the only antiviral medicine that shows effectiveness for COVID-19 patients to heal from the disease.
Drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc., the lab that made the drug, said that they did start their research in 2009. It was first thought to help patients recover from hepatitis C and another viral disease of Ebola. This was also the main basis of the researchers trying to twitch some particles on the drug to be suitable for COVID-19 patients.
Though the drug looks promising, there were still doubts about its ability to recover its patients.
However, Dr. Robert M. Grossberg, an associate professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an infectious disease specialist at Montefiore Health System, praised its creators saying "This was a well-designed study that proved that an antiviral drug could improve outcomes in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19."
In early June, Gilead claims that the drug can be helpful for COVID-19 patients that have a moderate virus since it will be more effective for only five days of treatment.
On June 29, the U.S. government bought tons of remdesivir vaccines for American citizens. The amount of drugs the government obtained is so huge that it can be used across the globe.
"President Trump has struck an amazing deal to ensure Americans have access to the first authorized therapeutic for COVID-19," says the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
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