'Dexamethasone saved my life,' reveals COVID-19 survivor  

A recovered COVID-19 patient on Wednesday revealed that ‘miracle’ drug dexamethasone ‘saved his life’.

The coronavirus survivor, Peter Herring, 69, from Ely in Cambridgeshire, said that he had been admitted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in late April after the deadly virus had infiltrated his lungs.

“As my health deteriorated and I became gravely ill, I volunteered to take part in a new drug’s trial and was offered dexamethasone.”

Praising the experimental treatment, Herring, who was 24 hours away from being placed on a ventilator, said, ‘When I went into the hospital, my breathing was pretty bad and the doctors put me on oxygen. I was quite worried, as I have type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, and had bowel cancer 15 years ago, so I was high risk.”

He said that the doctors told him that he was 24-hours away from being placed on ventilation, Mail Online reported

‘The treatment saved my life. I can’t say for certain, but my breathing was getting worse and then I turned the corner. Five days later I was out of intensive care and just over a week after I went in, I was back at home.”

“I am feeling absolutely wonderful now. I have bounced back and am full of energy,” Herring said and added, “I cannot thank the team at Addenbrooke’s Hospital [pls keep] enough. The standard of care was second to none.”

‘I feel incredibly lucky I was given dexamethasone. I am pretty certain that it made a difference to my outcome.

“I am over the moon that they are now rolling out use of the drug across the country.”

Mr Herring’s incredible recovery comes as Boris Johnson today praised the drug that scientists found could save up to a third of critically-ill Covid-19 patients and has become the first medicine proven to reduce the death rate among hospitalised patients.

An Oxford University scientist who led a British trial of the drug, Professor Peter Horby, said at today’s Downing Street briefing that treating eight people with the drug could save one life and cost just £40 in total.

It could save up to 35 per cent of patients relying on ventilators – the most dangerously ill – and reduce the odds of death by a fifth for all patients needing oxygen at any point.

Mr Johnson said at today’s press conference: ‘I’m absolutely delighted that the biggest breakthrough yet has been made by a fantastic team of scientists right here in the UK… I think there is genuine cause to celebrate a remarkable British scientific achievement [and] the benefits it will bring not just in this country but around the world.’

Dexamethasone, first created in the 1950s, is usually given to treat ulcerative colitis, arthritis and some types of cancer. It is already licensed and proven to be safe, meaning it can be used in human patients immediately and is a generic drug, meaning it can be manufactured cheaply and en masse by companies all over the world.