Remdesivir is an antiviral medication developed by Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company. It has been used to treat those aged 12 and older who were hospitalized with Covid-19. Its initial use was to “fight the Ebola virus, that prevents an RNA-based virus from reproducing within an infected cell by blocking it from replicating its viral genome” (Dictionary.com)
Clinical trials using Remdesivir were conducted as early as April 2020. The New England Journal of Medicine published a report which identified the antiviral drug as a “promising therapeutic candidate for Covid-19 because of its ability to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. In addition, in nonhuman primate studies, Remdesivir initiated 12 hours after inoculation with MERS-CoV reduced lung virus levels and lung damage.”
In October 2020, Remdesivir was given approval for medical use in the United States to treat patients who were hospitalized “with mild-to-severe COVID‑19…[and] in January 2022, a study indicated that non-hospitalized people who were at high risk for COVID-19 progression had an 87% lower risk of hospitalization or death after a 3-day course of intravenous Remdesivir” (Wikipedia).
The pandemic has created new words in the English language some of which have been added to the major dictionaries. On June 16, 2021 an article was published on the News18.com website that stated “Remdesivir has been added to the [Oxford] dictionary’s list of words. Remdesivir became a popular name during the harrowing second wave that hit India in April. The anti-viral injection that sent people scouting for it, has now recorded itself as a dictionary word in June 2021 following its extensive demand” (Buzz Staff).
Social Media Trends as of August 3, 2022
Facebook #remdesivir: 46,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #remdesivir: 28,875 posts
YouTube #remdesivir: 5,200 videos and 2,200 channels
Google Trends: remdesivir appeared as a blip during the week of February 2, 2020 and reached its peak in during the week of April 26, 2020 which coincided with some clinical trials using Remdesivir in the United States.
Sources:
BuzzStaff. “‘Remdesivir’ Added to Oxford Dictionary after Surge in Use During India’s Second Covid-19 Wave.” News18.com. June 16, 2021. URL: https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/remdesivir-added-to-oxford-dictionary-after-surge-in-use-during-indias-second-covid-19-wave-3854156.html.
“Remdesivir.” Dictionary.com. URL: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/remdesivir.
“Remdesivir.” Wikipedia.com. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remdesivir.
“Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19.” The New England Journal of Medicine. May 22, 2020. URL: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2007764.