Dexamethasone, an inexpensive and widely available steroid, was recently hailed as a “major breakthrough” in treating severe cases of COVID-19. The anti-inflammatory drug is commonly used to treat arthritis, allergic reactions, immune system disorders and respiratory disorders.

"We [on the protocol panel] have been discussing dexamethasone the past three days because the results in England were quite convincing," said pulmonologist Agus Dwi Susanto.

As the chair of the Indonesian Society of Respirology (PDPI), Agus was involved in drafting the country's COVID-19 treatment protocol along with the Indonesian Cardiovascular Specialists Association (PERKI), the Indonesian Internists Association (PAPDI), the Indonesian Association of Anesthesiologists and Intensive Therapy Specialists (PERDATIN) and the Indonesian Pediatric Society (IDAI).

Agus said that the protocol included another steroid, hydrocortisone, for treating severe and critical cases, although he noted that no further studies had been done on its efficacy in treating COVID-19.

The recently announced results of the University of Oxford’s RECOVERY clinical trials showed that dexamethasone reduced the death rate among the most severely ill COVID-19 patients by around a third, Reuters reported.

Oxford University medicine and epidemiology professor Martin Landray, who is coleading the RECOVERY trials, said that dexamethasone would "save lives" at a "remarkably low cost" when given to COVID-19 patients on ventilators or oxygen.

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