Demand for Steroid Surges After Drug Showed Promise for Covid-19

Demand in U.S. hospitals for a cheap, commonly used steroid has surged more than six-fold since U.K. research showed it reduced the mortality of patients who are severely ill with Covid-19.

Vizient Inc., a drug-purchasing group that works with more than half of the U.S. hospitals and health systems, said in a report Thursday that in six days orders for dexamethasone increased 610%. Meanwhile, the so-called fill rate of dexamethasone fell from 97% to 54%, suggesting that as demand increased, hospitals have been able to buy little more than half of the amount they ordered.

Researchers and drug companies ...