Research from the George Washington University has found treating COVID positive patients with aspirin can reduce risk for severe illness by almost 50%. The research also supports findings of a preliminary Israeli trial.

The GWU team investigated over 400 COVID patients at hospitals across the United States who take aspirin unrelated to their COVID virus. They found aspirin treatment reduced the risk of “several parameters by almost half: reaching mechanical ventilation by 44%, ICU admissions by 43%, and overall in-hospital mortality by 47%” reports The Jerusalem Post.

Dr. Jonathan Chow was part of the study team and noted, “as we learned about the connection between blood clots and COVID-19, we knew that aspirin- used to prevent stroke and heart attack – could be important for COVID-19 patients.”

“Our research found an association between low-dose aspirin and decreased severity of COVID-19 and death” said Chow. “Aspirin is low cost, easily accessible and millions are already using it to treat their health conditions” Chow added. “Finding this association is a huge win for those looking to reduce risk from some of the most devastating effects of COVID-19.”

Israeli researchers found similar results in a medical trial in March. “In addition to its effect on blood clots, they found that aspirin carried immunological benefits and that the group taking it was 29% less likely to become infected with the virus in the first place.”

The Blaze reports on similar findings published in Lancet’s Open Access eClinical Medicine and revealed that patients on blood thinners before getting COVID were admitted less often to the hospital despite being order and having more chronic medical conditions than their peers. The findings also revealed blood thinners , whether or not they were started before or after the patient contracted COVID, reduced death by nearly half.