A new study will look at the effectiveness of existing drugs in fighting COVID-19. They include fluticasone, fluvoxamine, and ivermectin, an anti-parasitic made notorious by some patients' attempts to use the veterinary version intended for livestock.

Remdesivir has been called life-saving and it’s now become one of the options President Donald Trump’s physicians are using to help him heal. Dr. Thomas Patterson, with UT Health San Antonio, has been leading a local study site for clinical trials of Remdesivir at University Hospital since March. Patterson said hospitalized COVID-19 patients who have required oxygen benefit the most from the treatment. Questions have mounted surrounding the president’s treatment, but Patterson said health officials are working to find the right answer. White House Physician Sean Conley said there have been improvements in the president’s health since the beginning of his treatment.

SAN ANTONIO University Hospital and UT Health San Antonio are again on the cutting edge in the battle against COVID-19, announcing the start of the third phase of clinical trials involving the drug remdesivir. This time, remdesivir will be paired with a drug called interferon beta-1a, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already approved for multiple sclerosis patients. Now, we realize this is an ultra marathon, said Dr. Thomas Patterson, the lead COVID-19 clinician for University Hospital. UT Health San Antonio and University Hospital are among the first test sites in the nation for this trial. Five patients have already enrolled in San Antonio, joining potentially a total of 1,000 volunteers nationwide.

SAN ANTONIO University Health researches in San Antonio are continuing to study the antiviral drug Remdesivir as a treatment for treating patients who are COVID-19 positive. University Health System Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bryan Alsip said that, judging from the data he has seen globally, the drug proves to be a very effective tool for treating COVID-19 patients. The team at University Health System hospital said they are the second stage of the Remdesivir clinical trial, where the team is giving an anti-inflammatory medication along with Remdesivir to COVID-19 patients, Patterson said. Lenzy was hospitalized the night his symptoms began and was at University hospital for six days. To learn more about the study visit the University System Hospital website by clicking here.

SAN ANTONIO – *This article was initially published on UT Health San Antonio’s newsroom website and was republished on KSAT.com with permission from UT Health. “Imagine how many senior adults, cancer patients or transplant recipients were spared from contracting COVID-19,” Dr. Berggren said. Dr. Berggren recalled a story about a hair salon where workers, who later learned they were infected, cut patrons’ hair. “We protect others when we wear a mask,” Dr. Berggren said. The numbers, both in San Antonio and in the 15 states studied, show it.

SAN ANTONIO *This article was initially published on UT Health San Antonios newsroom website and was republished on KSAT.com with permission from UT Health. Tests will not be positive until there is an active infection, so testing too early could yield a false negative. COVID-19 tests are important tools for diagnosing infection, but there are limitations to any test, said Jason Bowling, MD, associate professor of infectious diseases. After exposure to someone with COVID-19, you are at potential risk for developing infection for 14 days after the exposure. Several testing sites are available throughout the San Antonio area and are listed on the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District website: List of Testing Locations in Bexar County.

SAN ANTONIO – UT Health San Antonio is launching a treatment study that may be able to treat the novel coronavirus. Health officials announced Monday that UTHSA is among some of the first in the nation to test an investigational drug that was created to treat the virus. The treatment study aims to have 440 patients participate worldwide and there are currently 75 testing sites for the drug across the nation, according to health officials. Two of these testing sites are in San Antonio - one at UTHSA and one at the Brook Army Medical Center, officials say. Houston and Galveston also have study sites for the drug, UTHSA says.