The steroid which has been considered a breakthrough and possible effective drug to deal with Corona Virus Dexamethasone, is available in the country, Centre for Disease Control’s chairperson, Dr. Eric Dziuban has told Eagle FM.

According to reports, researchers at the UK’s University of Oxford have found that dexamethasone reduced deaths by about one-third in patients on ventilators and one-fifth in patients who require oxygen.

“We do have it here in Namibia, it’s called the Dexamethasone. It’s a steroid, we use it for many other medical conditions. And I think what we have seen so far about it is that it is very promising. The data is showing that it can really reduce the risk of death for people who get very sick with Covid-19.

So, we want to see more data, we want to understand it better. There are still ongoing studies but this is very promising. We are all eagerly waiting to hear about option. We are very fortunate as I said earlier that we do not have any Covid-deaths recorded in Namibia. We want to keep it that way for as long as possible, so we welcome this news,” He said.

He could not say which are the main illness the steroid cures but said it treats sever inflammatory reactions.

“ So any kind of illness where your body is having lots of inflammation, in your lungs and others part of the body, people have brain swelling from infections and different things, this drug can be used to bring that inflammation down,”  he said.

One country that is considering taping into the potential of Dexamethasone is South Africa were cases of deaths have breached the 1 000 mark.

Cyril Ramaphosa hammered on this in a televised address this week Wednesday night.

“The Department of Health and the Ministerial Advisory Committee has recommended that dexamethasone can be considered for use on patients on ventilators and on oxygen supply,” the president said.