The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug to treat COVID-19: remdesivir, an antiviral medicine given through an IV for patients needing hospitalization. It had been authorized for use on an emergency basis since spring, and now has become the first drug to win full U.S. approval for treating COVID-19. The FDA previously issued an emergency use authorization for the drug in May for the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with severe infections. In August, the FDA reduced restrictions of drug usage, allowing COVID-19 patients without severe infections to be treated with the drug. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education.

The safety and effectiveness of Regeneron’s antibody treatment have not yet been proven. Regeneron announced Wednesday that it has submitted an Emergency Use Authorization request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its COVID-19 antibody treatment. The company says that if the drug is approved, the government has committed to making the drug available to Americans at no cost. Trump has explicitly that he would like to make the drug available and free for everyone. Regeneron says they currently have doses of the drug available for about 50,000 patients and expect to have enough for 300,000 patients within the coming months.

For the study, U-M researchers used data from 154 critically ill Michigan Medicine patients from early March to late April to formulate their conclusions. At the end of 28 days after patients were put on a ventilator, 36% of patients of non-tocilizumab and 18% of tocilizumab patients died. For patients still at the hospital at the end of the study, 82% of tocilizumab patients and 53% of non-tocilizumab patients stopped using a ventilator. However, just over half of the tocilizumab patients developed an additional infection but only 26% of non-tocilizumab patients did. It was only given to 25% of tocilizumab patients and 20% of non-tocilizumab patients.

TROY, Mich. – A coronavirus (COVID-19) survivor who spent 94 days in a hospital fighting for her life is finally headed home. Johtasha Mosely was one of the original eight patients with COVID-19 at Beaumont Hospital in Troy. READ: ‘I got my husband back from the dead:’ Man hospitalized for month with COVID-19Mosely was misdiagnosed twice -- and when doctors finally realized she had coronavirus the hospital had run out of ventilators. She was sent to Troy where she was placed on a ventilator for five weeks. Click here to read more coronavirus experiencesWatch the video above for the full report

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) and Blue Care Network announced Tuesday that COVID-19 treatment will come at no cost to members through December 31, 2020. June 9, 2020: Michigan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases up to 59,107; Death toll now at 5,698The insurance providers previously announced the no-cost coverage for COVID-19 treatment would end on June 30. Thanks to the valiant efforts of our front-line health workers, our health systems and our governmental leaders, Michigan has flattened the coronavirus curve. Still, the virus remains in our communities and many people continue to suffer, said BCBSM President and CEO Daniel J. Loepp. Blue Cross wants our members in Michigan and across the nation to rest assured that, should they contract the COVID-19 disease, they wont have to worry about the financial cost of fighting it.Visit BCBSMs website here for more information.