India may not alter cornavirus treatment protocol to add drug hailed in UK

Trial results in Britain showed dexamethasone reduced death rates by around a third among the most severely ill Covid-19 patients admitted to hospital

India may not immediately alter its Covid-19 treatment protocol to include the steroid dexamethasone, given it already uses steroids on patients. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 task force in Mumbai has asked the government to make Gilead drug Remdesivir available at the earliest, as it could save many lives.

Dexamethasone, an inexpensive steroid available widely in India, is the latest drug touted to reduce the risk of death. The drug has been manufactured by Zydus Cadila and Wockhardt, with market size of Rs 100 crore — which is mostly stagnant.

A government source said: “The drug is easily available here. We can use it