Health authorities in Goa have achieved a 70 percent success rate with the combination of antiviral Remdesivir, plasma, and steroid treatment for Covid-19 patients, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Friday and added that the state government would continue the successful treatment protocol.
Rane also said that the state would beef up its testing apparatus to conduct between 2,000 to 2,500 tests a day, to get a comprehensive picture of the pandemic status, which has claimed 564 lives in the coastal state so far.
“Remdesivir has been approved by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration), as one of the drugs for Covid-19. In Goa, we have also found that plasma in a combination with Remdesivir and maybe in a certain proportion with steroids, has given us excellent results. So, we are going ahead with this protocol as far as Goa is concerned,” Rane told a press conference in Panaji.
The Health Minister said that Remdesivir should be administered to patients immediately after admission for the best results.
“Remdevisir should be given immediately when the patient is admitted within a specific period of time and if during that period of time if the plasma is administered it helps in raising the saturation level and prevents further damage to the lungs…” he also said.
The Health Minister also said that the government was evolving a new system of monitoring and treating post-Covid-19 complications with a holistic approach and proper follow-ups.
“A lot of people come with post-Covid complications. They need to be monitored, not just for a few days… Counselors are also being put in the field in order to counsel the patients undergoing home isolation because it will also include safety of elderly patients in the house,” Rane said, adding that treated Covid-19 patients, post-treatment, were developing fibrosis, which needed medical attention.
The Health Minister said that the treatment protocol for Covid-19 had evolved over time and the state government was now working on shifting patients who have been under home isolation for a prolonged period of time, directly to government health facilities, to reduce fatalities.
“Instructions have been given, that in case after 10 days or 12 days, they find that the patient still has symptoms, they should not waste time, they should shift the home isolation patient to a medical facility. This will help save more lives so that he does not come in a state of breathlessness,” Rane said.
The Health Minister also said that there was little merit in testing entire villages for Covid-19 in case a positive case was found in the vicinity and added that testing needs to be more focussed.
“We want to keep testing at a minimum of 2,000-2,500 per day,” Rane said.
