Infectious disease specialists in Israeli hospitals have reported that supplies of the drug, purchased by the Ministry of Health and distributed only upon request by hospitals, are so limited that they are running short. Unlike most drugs provided by hospitals, remdesivir is not included in medical fees; the Ministry of Health purchases it from a dedicated budget separate from public health costs.
According to the Ministry of Health, “We continue to see a trend of hospitalized and ventilated COVID-19 patients. The increase in COVID-19 incidence rates, both among hospitalized patients (including those on ventilators) and the general public, has reached a level that could trigger a new wave of the disease in the country.”
According to data from the ministry, hospitalization numbers remain stable, with hospitalizations declining compared to the previous week.
Some hospitals have seen a visible increase in the number of hospitalized patients, and doctors are complaining of medicine shortages. “We are clearly seeing an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients who need to be hospitalized,” said a hospital official.
“Both Remdesivir and Paxlovid are drugs that can prevent high-risk deaths, but they are in short supply. It is up to the Ministry of Health to order the drugs, and our hospital recently announced a shortage of Remdesivir, but this is the same situation in all Israeli hospitals,” he added.
He added that this also applies to Paxlovid, “because it’s the same way to get it. It’s not covered by health insurance, so they try to save on it. ” He explained, “Paxlovid has a lot of interactions with other drugs, so sometimes it’s not possible to administer it, which means we can’t offer drug therapy to these patients.”
“Clinical studies have shown that at-risk patients given remdesivir at an early stage of the disease experience a 90% reduction in mortality,” he said.
Dr. Tal Brosh, head of infectious diseases at Ashta Ashdod University Hospital, explained: “Currently, there are three antiviral drugs for COVID-19, and remdesivir is one of them. It is administered intravenously, and of the three, remdesivir is the only one that has been proven effective in treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients, including those with severe symptoms.”
“We are giving it to patients who are experiencing difficulty breathing and low blood oxygen saturation and are hospitalized with severe COVID-19. Many studies have proven that this prevents the disease from worsening,” he added.
“This drug is the only option for antiviral treatment for hospitalized patients. Other drugs are given orally and target mild COVID-19 and can prevent hospitalization. We are giving them to high-risk patients,” Brosh said.
“If a patient has to be hospitalized, the only antiviral available for treatment is remdesivir. We also give steroids to treat COVID-19, but they need to be used in conjunction with antiviral treatment. It is obviously an expensive drug, but it is the best for treating COVID-19 and we are seeing a lot of patients right now who need it,” he added.
“The Ministry of Health has centralized procurement of COVID-19 drugs and is distributing them to hospitals and HMOs according to their various needs,” the ministry said in a statement. “Given the need for Remdesivir, the ministry has approved additional procurement that is expected to arrive at each institution in the coming days. The ministry is working to ensure the supply of the drug.”
