Dexamethasone is first drug shown to save lives. It is not a 'miraculous cure' or silver bullet for Covid-19. It cut deaths by one-third among patients critically ill with COVID-19 (1). Some people still die.

(1) https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01824-5 (Nature)

Good morning,

Dexamethasone seems to decrease the mortality and morbidity for patients critically ill but it is not a cure because it does not kill the viruses. It is mainly an antiinflammatory drug which seems to help the patients to recover from the infection. I also know than vets are using steroids in critical cases of pulmonary diseases to help the calves to recover for example.

It's just supportive drug.

It's only used for severe cases not for mild cases.

Here is a new article (6/24/2020) featuring this topic: " Dexamethasone and the Recovery Trial’s High-Speed Science ". The original paper (preprint) is also attached.

https://www.wired.com/story/dexamethasone-and-the-recovery-trials-high-speed-science/?utm_source=Nature+Briefing&utm_campaign=623e207362-briefing-dy-20200624_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c9dfd39373-623e207362-43326141

Dexamethasone acts on the immune system to dampen the response and reduce the cytokine storm. In effect, it prevents the massive inflammation seen in the lungs and the heart which are responsible for severe respiratory problems in very ill patients.

No it is used for the patients whose severity is high.

Dexamethasone is not going to destroy the virus it is just responsible to decrease inflammations in the lungs and possibly in other organs

It is not an effective treatment, but it can reduce complications in severe cases for the patient.

Dexamethasone is (as mentioned above) not a miraculous drug. But it has been proven to reduce the mortality in servere COVID-19 cases that need respiration and it is widely available and it is cheap. So it must be seen as hopeful and helpful...

Another drug that may help is Remdesivir which is neither widely available nor cheap...

No it is not yet ascertained

Not so.

Early administration of glucocorticoids inhibits the initiation of the

body’s immune defense mechanism, thereby increasing the

viral load and ultimately leading to adverse consequences.

Therefore, glucocorticoids are primarily used in critically ill patients suffering from inflammatory cytokine storm. A short course treatment of methylprednisolone 1 to 2mg/kg/ day for 3 to 5 days is advised in the sicker population of COVID-

19 with ARDS.