Russia already uses dexamethasone to treat patients with the novel coronavirus, but does not view it as a panacea against COVID-19, the RIA news agency cited Russian health ministry official Sergei Avdeev as saying on Wednesday.

Dexamethasone, a cheap and widely used steroid, has become the first drug shown to be able to save the lives of critically ill COVID-19 patients in what scientists said is a major breakthrough in the coronavirus pandemic.