| Agencies | New Delhi |

The Central government has approved the usage of low-cost steroid drug dexamethasone to treat the covid-19 patients in India with moderate and severe symptoms. British clinical trials had earlier found Dexamethasone to be effective against severely ill patients. The drug is approved to be used in place of methylprednisolone, which was used earlier in treating the patients.
This approval from the government came after the World Health Organisation (WHO) urged the countries for increasing the production of dexamethasone. The Union Health Ministry updated the "Clinical Management Protocol: COVID-19� document, which was published to be used by health care officials for treating the patients.
As per the "Clinical Management Protocol: COVID-19� document, dexamethasone can be used on the covid patients who are on oxygen support & on those who have an excessive inflammatory response.