Budesonide appears to be an extremely useful and efficacious med for early treatment of c19 and it is stocked by almost every pharmacy (in inhaler form). The participants in the study quoted from (and embedded below) took 2 x 400 μg inhalations of budesonide per day. Budesonide inhalers typically dispense between 100 - 400 μg per actuation/press.

The authors state: 'In this open-label, parallel-group, phase 2, randomised controlled trial, inhaled budesonide, when given to adults with early COVID-19, reduced the likelihood of requiring urgent care, emergency department consultation, or hospitalisation. There was also a quicker resolution of fever, a known poor prognostic marker in COVID-19...'.

The graph below from the study is very insightful, though you should read the graph plots in conjunction with the 'Numbers at risk' for each day, which are writen below the X-axis label.

Please see additional (brief) quotes from the study below as they will quickly get you 'up to speed' on the value of the easy to obtain mainstream med.. Note that the lead author of the study works at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford & the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, UK - which are both Oxford University related and thus might count for something?

Whatever covid is (and presuming the syndrome isn't just a rebranding of the common cold/flu) it is being commonly reported by doctors that early treatment makes a huge difference to illness progression (for example see this interview with Dr. Lee Merritt). Hence meds which can be simple/quickly obtained and used at home, such as HCQ, ivermectin, budesonide are potentially very valuable.

Dr Richard Bartlett is an MD working in a US c19 clinic, and has experience of budesonside and Regeneron. The interview with him (below) is interesting and insightful given his extensive hands-on experience with both meds. Regeneron/Ronapreve is also seemingly an excellent medication for the treatment of c19, particularly when compared with the extremely hazardous mainstream protocol of remdesivir (plus, often, ventilation) which c19 patients are being prescribed. However, Regeneron/Ronapreve is expensive and not easily obtainable, plus needs a medical professional to administer - whereas budesonide inhalers only cost a few dollars and are stocked by almost every pharmacy.

Quotes from the study (full study embedded below): Inhaled budesonide in the treatment of early COVID-19 (STOIC): a phase 2, open-label, randomised controlled trial

From the abstract (Interpretation)

Early administration of inhaled budesonide reduced the likelihood of needing urgent medical care and reduced time to recovery after early COVID-19

From the conclusion:

In conclusion, budesonide, an inhaled glucocorticoid [steroid], appears to be an effective treatment for early COVID-19 infection, which could be applicable to global health-care systems. Our findings require urgent validation and dissemination, especially in the setting of a treatment given early that is widely available and relatively safe.

From the discussion:

We have shown that the inhaled glucocorticoid budesonide, given for a short duration, might be an effective treatment of early COVID-19 in adults. This effect, with a relative reduction of 91% of clinical deterioration is equivalent to the efficacy seen after the use of COVID-19 vaccines14 and greater than that reported in any treatments used in hospitalised patients and patients with severe COVID-19.15

...

Inhaled budesonide is a simple, safe, well studied, inexpensive, and widely available treatment.

...

There was a significantly greater population of participants randomly assigned to budesonide who were free of symptoms at 14 days compared with participants randomly assigned to usual care. Symptom resolution measured using either self-reported symptom recovery, FLUPro and CCQ showed ongoing symptoms at day 28 in participants in the usual care arm compared with budesonide.

Embed of full study. Can also be read in Googles PDF reader by clicking here.