Accordingly, hospitals must notify patients and the family members of patients with information about the drug being licensed for import. The drug can only be used afterreceiving the consent of patients and their family.
The drug should be used within the first 10 days after the onset of the disease and should be combined with Dexamethasone. Remdesivir is preferred for use in high-risk groups including people over 65 years of age, people with underlying medical conditions, and obese people (BMI >25).
The treatment effectiveness and safety of Remdesivir must be continuously monitored and evaluated. Information including the quantity of used drugs, treatment effectiveness, and safety of Remdesivir shall be reported to the MoH on the 30th of every month to supplement guidelines for diagnosis and treatment.
As of the evening of August 12, a total of 40,000 vials of Remdesivir have arrived in Vietnam. Of which, around 10,000 vials were distributed to 10 hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City to treat COVID-19 patients.
The southern city is currently the biggest COVID-19 hot spot with 4,000-7,000 cases recorded daily since mid-July, and the main objective right now is to reduce deaths among severe cases as medical facilities strain to handle large inflows of patients.
The ministry noted that through donation sources in the past, the drug appears to help reduce the viral load in the infected, but cautioned that members of the public should not look for or stock up on these drugs.
According to Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the Health Ministry's Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, Remdesivir is after all still a new drug, and the administration of this drug must be closely monitored to determine its actual effectiveness.
Previously, on August 2, under the guidance of the MoH, Vingroup successfully negotiated for the provision of 500,000 vials of Remdesivir from Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla under a licensing agreement from US-based Gilead Sciences.
