COVID-19 Treatment

As COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly, countless individuals are attempting to create a vaccine or antiviral drug that will work. If you are like me, you can’t wait to get back to normal. With stores such as Walmart limiting the number of people who can enter at a time, this virus is only causing more restrictions. If you don’t need to go out, don’t. The only way to stop this rapid spread is to not come into contact with anyone who is asymptomatic or any fomites that have the virus on them. I am still working at a restaurant as they are seen as necessary and the fear of coming into contact with the virus only gets worse as weeks go by. I’m certain the same fear is in healthcare workers. Although antiviral drugs and vaccines at this point won’t stop the spread quickly, it is a step in the right direction to protect individuals that aren’t infected.

An antiviral drug called hydroxychloroquine is being tested on it’s effectiveness to treat COVID-19. This drug has been used to treat malaria. Antiviral activity against coronavirus has been shown using this drug. It has been suggested to pair this drug with prophylaxis at appropriate, approved doses to prevent coronavirus. Clinical trials using the two drugs have taken place in China, but there isn’t a large enough sample size to make any assumptions. There are plans to create a random controlled trial to accurately evaluate how efficient the antiviral drug is in anyone currently infected. Researchers are also looking at the prevention of secondary infections. I’ve heard this virus is suggested to come back in the fall so an antiviral drug that provides protection against a second infection would be beneficial. The main goal in all of these trials is to reduce transmission. This is the goal with social distancing and remaining 6 feet apart from others at all times. If anyone can find a way to reduce how quickly this disease is spreading, it will be treated as severely as the flu one day.

Japan is quickly testing drugs in hopes of treating coronavirus. They are hoping to find an existing drug. This may be the quickest option in treating this fast spread virus as creating a vaccine seems to take at least a year. One drug they are looking at is Avigan, an antiviral used to treat influenza. This team in Japan is trying to rapidly produce this antiviral drug, get it into clinical trials and into hospitals. It’s use has already been approved by the government, named an emergency measure to treat cases. Clinical trials is the step slowing down the process. They are expecting to finish their trials by the end of June. Currently they have no data supporting if Avigan is effective against COVID-19. Healthcare professionals can only work so fast. I am hopeful there will be some antiviral drug or vaccine created in the near future to help recurrent spread of this virus.