DOH cautions against celebrating initial clinical trials of dexamethasone vs COVID-19

June 17, 2020

The Department of Health (DOH) Wednesday cautioned  the public against prematurely celebrating after a reports initial clinic trials of dexamethasone in the United Kingdom were found effective for seriously-ill COVID-19 patients.

In a virtual press conference, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said :"Yes, this is a breakthrough in science, if ever, because it will be really helpful. But we will still need to complete its processing."

"As we have said, There is no cure yet for COVID-19. We have no treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 yet," she said.

Vergeire said the dexamethasone trial still lacks  "peer review" or the evaluation of fellow scientific experts regarding its efficacy and safety.

"We will have to wait for the results of the peer review before we can say of this can be used to COVID-19 patients," she said.

"This can be useful to severe and critical cases only, those in need of oxygen or are using ventilators," said Vergeire.

Vergeire said dexamethasone may only be used by healthcare professionals and not a do-it-yourself drug.

"This is not for us to go to drugstores to purchase and take them in order to prevent COVID-19," said Vergeire.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the initial clinical trial results showing that dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, can be lifesaving for patients critically ill with COVID-19.  DMS