Fifty-five coronavirus deaths in the UK could have been prevented if the patients had been given a cheap steroid which had been hailed as a "breakthrough" in the fight against the virus, documents have revealed.
Scientists announced in June they had discovered the common steroid dexamethasone was an effective treatment for severely-ill COVID-19 patients, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed as a "cause to celebrate".
But papers released by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) on Friday warned that the "implementation of steroids therapy for COVID-19 in the UK has been slow and incomplete".
The experts said they had looked at the "mortality benefit of low dose dexamethasone among patients requiring oxygen".
They found that out of 1,360 patients "receiving oxygen but no steroid since 16 June, 55 deaths could have been prevented".
SAGE also revealed that nearly 25% of coronavirus patients on oxygen therapy in August and September "did not receive any corticosteroid (steroid) therapy".
"One quarter of eligible patients had not received a readily available inexpensive evidence-based treatment for COVID-19," the government's scientists said in the document dated 29 October.
"Efforts to support the administration of these cheap, well-tolerated, readily available compounds to the right patients should be urgently undertaken, and the reasons for slow uptake evaluated."
In June, Mr Johnson hailed dexamethasone as the "biggest breakthrough yet" in treating the virus.
At the time, the PM said the drug would be made available across the NHS and "we have taken steps to ensure we have enough supplies, even in the event of a second peak".
The widely used steroid works to reduce inflammation and treats a range of conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.
University of Oxford Professor Peter Horby, who led a trial of the drug, said it reduced death rates by around 35% for COVID-19 patients on ventilators, and by about 20% for patients needing oxygen.
"It's been around for probably 60 years," Prof Horby said in June.
"It costs in the order of £5... for a complete course of treatment in the NHS, and substantially less - probably less than one dollar - in other parts of the world, for example in India."
A coronavirus patient who was part of the trial of dexamethasone said his survival was "touch and go" before getting the drug.
Pete Herring told Sky News his condition got so bad that doctors at Addenbrooke's Hospital had been discussing placing him into an induced coma if the trial drug had not been effective.
He said: "It was touch and go at one point. I was really quite ill.
"I'm 100% grateful that I was part of the trial."
