FDA cautions use of steroid dexamethasone vs coronavirus

MANILA, Philippines — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned the public not to believe false claims that the steroid dexamethasone can prevent coronavirus infection and stressed that unregulated use and sale of the drug can cause serious illness and criminal prosecution.

“Dexamethasone is a prescription drug and should strictly be used under the supervision of a licensed physician. The drug should be only dispensed by licensed establishments to patients with valid prescription,” FDA Director General Eric Domingo said in FDA Advisory No. 2020-1131, adding that violators can be penalized with imprisonment.

Domingo issued the advisory amid reports that dexamethasone was being sold online with the false claim that it can prevent infection with the new coronavirus that causes the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The false claims emerged after scientists in the United Kingdom announced that their studies showed that the steroid helped reduce deaths among patients who were already severely ill.

But Oxford University scientists, under the UK Randomised Evaluation of Covid-19 Therapy program, also explicitly said that dexamethasone did not benefit those with mild symptoms and made no claims on the drug’s effect on the virus itself.

Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid that has been in use against a range of conditions since the 1960s but it is also known to cause many side effects, including severe ones, particularly on children and pregnant women.