Covid-19 patients who were taking statins almost halved their chances of dying, research suggests. Patients on the cholesterol-lowering pill taken by six million Brits were also less likely to need to be put on a ventilator.
Chinese researchers analysed data on 14,000 Covid-19 patients at 21 hospitals in Hubei Province where the pandemic originated.
Just 5.2% of those on statins died in the following 28 days compared to 9.4% not on the 3p a day pill. This was a 45% fall in mortality rate.
Author Hongliang Li, of Wuhan University, said: “These results support the safety and potential benefits of statin therapy in hospitalised patients and provide a rationale for prospective studies to determine whether statins confer protection against