More than 30 COVID-19 patients at Methodist Dallas Medical Center have received the antiviral drug remdesivir to positive results.

Marcus Hawkins, 39, was in the hospital for four days.

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“He was very, very sick,” Dr. Lauren Hoffman told KTVT. “Had he worsened any further, we would have had to send him to the ICU and intubate.”

The seriousness of his illness made him a candidate for the hospital’s remdesivir trials, and the drug helped Hawkins improve after less than a day. He looked better, and his oxygen levels improved, the doctor said.

Dr. Parvez Mantry, Methodist Health System’s executive medical director of research, is overseeing the hospital’s remdesivir trials.

“We have seen a remarkable degree of improvement in the majority of patients using remdesivir,” Dr. Mantry told the TV station.

The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency approval for the drug last week, but its rollout has been haphazard and frustrating for hospitals that need it most.

Meanwhile, at Parkland Hospital, a 29-year-old graduate of Townview High School and Yale University was given tocilizumab, a drug commonly used to treat arthritis; the COVACTA clinical trial for that drug was approved by the FDA in March. Kiara Hearn, who also has the inflammatory disease lupus, was already on a ventilator when doctors gave her tocilizumab. Five days later, she was breathing on her own.