The FDA is paused to make an "Emergency-use Authorization" of the drug Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19. An "Emergency-use Authorization". is different than an approval, but the bottomline is that it will allow hospitals to use it to treat their inpatients who have the virus.
Remdesivir is an antiviral which has shown to shorten the expected hospital stay by three days. Remdesivir is NOT a cure and it is not a vaccine. Remdesivir is administered using an IV drip.
Remdesivir will be considered the standard of care and the expectation is that as additional treatments are developed they will be used in combination with Remdesivir, not unlike the way we treat HIV/AIDS.
What is An “Emergency-Use Authorization?
"FDA Commissioner may allow unapproved medical products or unapproved uses of approved medical products to be used in an emergency to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions..."
