El Paso hospitals to receive 12 cases of virus treatment Remdesivir

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday that the state will be distributing 12 cases of an antiviral drug used to treat coronavirus to El Paso hospitals.

Early trials have shown Remdesivir has helped some Covid-19 patients recover quicker than those who were not given the drug.

"Not only will this drug treat patients throughout the state, but it will especially bolster our mitigation and treatment efforts in communities experiencing surges in Covid-19 cases," Abbott said in a news release.

The Department of Health and Human Services gave Texas 30 cases last week.

Each case contains 40 vials of the drug. Depending on the patient's condition, they may require more or less doses of the drug. The FDA's emergency use authorization allows both a 10-day course of treatment for patients on ventilators and a 5-day course for those not on ventilators.