The idea that injecting steroids can help reduce the effects of covid on the body has been kicking around for a while, with more and more studies accumulating.
The exciting news is that new WHO-backed meta-analysis agrees with many of the smaller studies: that ~1/3 of deaths might be prevented using steroids.
This is great news, but note this isn't a cure (it's just a way to help the body cope with covid) and it doesn't work magic for everyone.
Statnews says "After 28 days,
- 33% of the steroid-treated patients had died, compared to
- 41% of the patients on usual care or a placebo."
That's wonderful, but not a silver bullet, and it doesn't say what happened longer-term.
So this is going to be one important tool in the toolbox, but we've still got a major problem - so please stay vigilant!
We look forward to further studies figuring out how this strategy interacts with other tools and works for different people.