Wolfe would love to share some of his remdesivir with doctors like Godofsky, given that it's the only drug authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat Covid-19.
But as coronavirus makes its way around the United States, with surges in some areas and declining numbers in others, there's no mechanism for hospitals to shift the drug where it's needed most.
The federal government is overseeing distribution of remdesivir, and Wolfe, Godofsky and other physicians say the system needs an overhaul.
Godofsky says he feels "handcuffed" not being able to give his patients in Bradenton, Florida, remdesivir, a drug that can speed recovery, and possibly reduce patients' risk of dying.
"It's been very frustrating," said Godofsky, an infectious disease specialist. "Patients suffer and you just feel terrible."
"This is nuts," said Wolfe, an infectious disease expert at Duke University Medical Center. "It's been really disturbing to watch how this has played out."
Friday, a spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services told CNN that in the coming week, allocations of remdesivir to states "will emphasize locations with large recent increases."
The spokesperson gave amounts to be shipped to four hotspot states -- Arizona, California, Florida and Texas -- that are far smaller than the number of hospitalized patients in those states.
The spokesperson also said the company hired to distribute remdesivir will reach out to each hospital that received the drug to confirm that it still needs it.
The department "is committed to equitable and efficient distribution of the drug with the goal of reaching as many patients as possible across all states and U.S. territories," according to the spokesperson.
Distributing remdesivir
In May, the FDA granted emergency authorization for remdesivir for hospitalized Covid-19 patients. At first, Gilead Sciences, the company that makes the drug, donated the supply, but starting next week, hospitals have to purchase it.
It's hardly a blockbuster drug. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows it shaves four days off a hospital stay.
On Friday, Gilead presented data at a medical conference indicating that patients on remdesivir had a 7.6% mortality rate compared to a 12.5% mortality rate for those who did not receive the drug. The analysis also showed that 74.4% of remdesivir-treated patients recovered by 14 days compared to 59% of patients who did not get remdesivir.
The data has not been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, making it less reliable.
Even though it's not a cure for Covid-19, doctors say most of their hospitalized patients could benefit from remdesivir. The shipments headed to the hotspot states in the coming week, however, don't even come close.
As of July 10, Texas had 10,002 hospitalized patients with Covid-19, but the batch headed to Texas will have only enough remdesivir for about 3,507 patients; Florida had 6,974 patients, b
