BMC says preliminary experiment of cocktail of two antibody drugs successful

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) today said preliminary experiment of a cocktail of two antibody drugs -- Casirvimab and Imdevimab -- was successful. BMC said treatment of more than 200 patients has been done at Seven Hills Hospital. The number of patients in need of oxygen after this cocktail medication is only 0.5% and the mortality rate is reduced by a staggering 70%. Earlier, requirement of 13 to 14 days of hospitalisation reduced to 5 to 6 days. Side effects reduced by avoiding the use of other drugs like remedisvir, steroids, etc. Successful experimentation with this drug combination against the backdrop of a possible third wave is a respite, BMC said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Monday witnessed a fall in its fresh infections of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) as 7603 more people tested positive, taking its cumulative infection tally to 6,165,402, a health department bulletin showed. The Covid-19 related death toll, meanwhile, rose to 126,024, as the daily fatalities fell to 53, according to the bulletin. Ninety-three reconciled fatalities were also added to the cumulative death toll. Over the last few days, Maharashtra's daily Covid-19 caseload has been in the range of 8000-9000 infections per day. From July 8 to July 11, the state saw 9114, 8992, 8266 and 8535 fresh infections respectively. Mumbai's daily caseload also witnessed a decline, as the state capital recorded 496 new cases as against 558 on Sunday. 9 new virus-related deaths were reported in the city as against 15 a day ago. With this, Mumbai's cumulative infection tally has risen to 728,190, including 15,636 fatalities.