Boris Johnson has hailed the "biggest breakthrough yet" in the search for a coronavirus treatment which could save thousands of lives.
Leading the Downing Street daily briefing, the British Prime Minister announced researchers at Oxford University confirmed that a widely available drug can save lives.
"This drug, dexamethasone, can now be made available across the NHS. And we’ve taken steps to ensure we have enough supplies in the event of a second peak," he said.
At the press conference, professor Peter Horby from the University of Oxford said the study - which involved more than 11,500 patients across 175 NHS hospitals - found in ventilated patients with Covid-19 the drug reduced the risk of deaths by a third. In Covid-19 patients who require oxygen, the drug reduced deaths by a fifth.
"What they found was quite remarkable...Dexamethasone shows quite a significant effect in patients," he said
He added the drug is an old drug, a boring drug and a cheap drug but not one you would use in the wider community.
Mr Johnson described the findings as the first robust clinical trial anywhere in the world.
Dexamethasone is a steroid drug which was first developed 60 years ago.
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