The Section of Medical Solutions (DMS) yesterday defended the effectiveness of favipiravir in treating Covid-19 patients towards an international study claiming the antiviral drug lacked efficacy in treatments.
Dr Somsak Akksilp, DMS director-general, stated the study he is talking about is one carried out in the usa, Mexico and Brazil.
Within the study, favipiravir was used to compare with the control group, he or she said, adding there was 1, 187 sufferers who volunteered to take part in the research, 70% of whom were overweight and 15% were elderly.
However , it appears the particular researchers didn’t adapt the appropriate doses from the pills based on individual weight, he said.
Nearly every patient who obtained pills during the 3rd day of the study started developing coronavirus symptoms, he mentioned, noting one-third of them had at least been infected once or vaccinated.
The evaluation in order to gauge the intensity of infections amongst patients is also totally different from Thailand’s, Dr Somsak said.
He said Thailänder researchers have carried out a study on the medication using 93 sufferers in three hospitals. All of them were beneath 60 years old plus didn’t suffer chronic diseases, he mentioned. Only 25% were obese, he said.
Half of the patients had been treated with the tablet from the first day symptoms started displaying, he said. The girls only developed mild-to-moderate symptoms, he stated.
This individual said the sufferers were treated and monitored in the hospital.
He or she said the effectiveness of favipiravir was measured by medical personnel with the News system — comprising of investigations on patients’ respiratory system rate, blood oxygen saturation and heartrate, among others.