GREENSBORO, N.C. — Viewer Jon Thomas asks us to verify: Did cancer drug EXO-CD24 cure 30 Covid-19 patients in Israel?
Our sources for this are the Jewish News Syndicate and the Yale School of Medicine.
According to the Jewish News Syndicate, Israel's Prime Minister met with researchers behind EXO-CD24 Monday saying "If this succeeds, it will be huge, simply huge. This little thing could change the fate of humanity."
The researchers say they gave the drug to 30 patients with moderate-to-severe cases of COVID-19, and by 5 days later 29 of the 30 patients had been released from the hospital. The last patient was released after more time.
This research is still in the very early stages. It needs to be reviewed by medical peers around the world.
But we do know: the drug does not cure you of COVID-19 - meaning it does not get rid of the COVID-19 in your body. Instead, the medicine treats one of the most deadly symptoms: a cytokine storm. That's when your immune system is kicked into overdrive and actually does more harm than good according to a video posted online by the Yale School of Medicine.
"It is thought that it is really the overdrive of the immune response that's leading to the severe cases of COVID-19. Instead of helping the host cope with the infection, the cytokines can actually cause damage to the tissue. such as breaking down the protective layer of the lungs," the video says.
So the new drug did not cure 30 patients in Israel of COVID-19, but we can verify it is a possible new treatment for a COVID-19 symptom.
Have something you want us to verify? Let Ben Briscoe know on Twitter.