Some patients seeking treatment outside hospitals can now use the antiviral remdesivir after U.S. drug regulators late Friday expanded approval of the drug. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the expansion was supported by a study run by Gilead Sciences, which developed remdesivir, showing the drug cut the risk of hospitalization by 87 percent among people who tested positive for COVID-19. No other research was cited by the FDA. The study was done before the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus became dominant in the United States, though the National Institutes of Health-convened COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel said recently (pdf) the drug “is expected to be active against the Omicron” strain. The panel recommended remdesivir be made an option for non-hospitalized patients alongside the already-available monoclonal antibody treatment sotrovimab from GlaxoSmithKline. Monoclonal antibodies require a one-time intravenous infusion, versus IV administration across three straight days for remdesivir. Dr. David Boulware, …