03/29/2024
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FAYETTEVILLE – May 15, 2020 – Cape Fear Valley will receive an allocation of remdesivir from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to aid in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The first patients will receive the drug next week.

Remdesivir is an investigational antiviral which has been evaluated in clinical trials. The NIAID sponsored Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial announced preliminary results demonstrating shortened time to clinical recovery in patients with severe COVID-19 infection. Based on these preliminary results, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to permit the use of remdesivir for treatment of hospitalized adults and children with severe infection.

Gilead donated 607,000 vials of remdesivir over the next few months for use across the U.S. Cape Fear Valley’s allocation is based on the health system’s percentage of the overall number of hospitalized COVID patients in N.C.

Hospitals receiving remdesivir must assess and document that patients meet inclusion and exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria include:

  • Suspected or laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (the virus that causes COVID-19)
  • Non-pregnant adult or child
  • Severe lower respiratory tract disease requiring supplemental oxygen
  • Radiographic (X-ray) evidence of lower respiratory tract disease

“We are pleased to have remdesivir available for our hospitalized COVID-19 patients,” said Christopher Tart, PharmD, Vice President of Professional Services. “There are many requirements on the hospital in order to receive this therapy and our pharmacy team, providers and nurses are all excited to meet this challenge so that we can offer another life-saving treatment for COVID patients from Cumberland County and the region.”

Cape Fear Valley Health is a 950-bed health system serving a region of more than 800,000 people in Southeastern North Carolina. The not-for-profit system is the state’s 8th largest health system and made up of 7,000 team members and 850 physicians, eight hospitals, and more than 60 primary care and specialty clinics. Cape Fear Valley Health offers residencies in emergency medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry and general surgery, as well as a transitional year internship in affiliation with the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine at Campbell University. For more information, visit www.CapeFearValley.com.

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