TAMPA, Fla. — As more people are hospitalized due to COVID-19, one drug that can speed up recovery is in short supply. Manufacturers of Remdesivir are working to meet demand, but hospitals are having a hard time getting shipments fast enough.
"We may have about a million doses by the end of the year. But until that begins to occur, we are going to run into shortages,” said Dr. Kevin Sneed, of the Taneja College of Pharmacy at the University of South Florida.
“If you have five patients that need it, but you only have enough medication...for two people, how do you make that determination? And so, you know, you are kind of having winners and losers potentially at any one given site,” he said.
Additionally, distribution of Remdesivir seems uneven. One hospital in the Tampa Bay area said Friday it still has enough from a recent shipment to treat patients, but Sarasota Memorial said this week it was out.
"You're having...a lot of hospitals begin to battle one another for potentially life-saving medication,” said Sneed.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, hospitals get shipments every other week, but the amount is based on cases from previous weeks. That can cause shortages when cases rise.
Gov. DeSantis said Friday he's working to get more doses.
“…The White House is accelerating more Remdesivir to the state of Florida. We think it's going to ship this weekend, and obviously, we'll be working with all the hospitals. They're going to go directly from the distributor to the hospital."
While these drug shortages are worrisome, doctors say the public has the power to reduce dependence on the drug.
"There's a big debate going on around whether to wear a mask or not...open up the schools or not... One way or the other, an affected individual has the potential to wind up becoming a patient in the hospital. And so, anything that we can do to prevent that patient from entering the hospital, then that will in turn reduce the burden for hospitals, and for the personnel that treat sick patients,” he said.
Sneed said researchers developed Remdesivir in-part with subsidies from the federal government. However, he's concerned that in the fall, costs for the drug could rise, making it even harder for people to get.
- Here are the reopening plans for Tampa Bay school districts
- Ousted Florida COVID-19 dashboard manager files whistleblower complaint
- Hillsborough superintendent presents reopening plans with delayed school year start date
- 156 more Floridians have died from COVID-19 as state reports another 13,965 cases
- Florida's recent record day for COVID-19 might not have been quite that high
- Gov. DeSantis: Florida to cut ties with testing labs providing delayed COVID-19 results
- How to see Comet NEOWISE and the International Space Station
FREE 10 TAMPA BAY APP:
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for the Brightside Blend Newsletter