WASHINGTON, DC - Iowa is one of six states selected by the federal government to receive a shipment of the drug remdesivir.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced over the weekend that it's sending the antiviral drug to state health departments for use on COVID-19 patients.
The FDA approved the drug for treatment on May 1. It was only authorized for use in clinical trials before that time.
The FDA approval came after a study found using remdesivir reduced recovery time in COVID-19 patients by an average of four days. Patients given the drug in the study took 11 days to recover, compared to others who took 15 days to recover.
Dr. Anthony Fauci announced the results of the study during a White House meeting with President Trump on April 29th.
California based Gilead Sciences produces remdesivir, It's donating its stockpile of the drug to the U.S. government, which is enough to treat about 78,000 patients.
HHS is sending 10 cases of the drug to Iowa. Each case contains 40 vials of the drug.
Shipments of remdesivir began on Thursday to the six states - New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Connecticut and Iowa.