Several companies are testing antivirals against the virus causing COVID-19, antivirals work better if you administer them sooner before the virus has a chance to multiply and also before the virus has caused significant damage to the body.
Dr. Robert Amler( dean of the School of Health Sciences and former chief medical officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) said both antivirals and vaccines will be valuable tools in combating COVID-19.
Few drugs being tested are:-
- Remdesivir: It is being tested in five COVID-19 clinical trials and its result will be available in April.
- Kaletra: This is a combination of two drugs that work against HIV. Clinical trials are planned to see whether it works against the virus that causes COVID-19.
- Chloroquine: Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia expect to start a clinical trial of chloroquine and an HIV drug soon.
- Favipiravir: This drug is approved in some countries outside the United States to treat influenza. Some reports from China suggest it may work as a treatment for COVID-19.
- Monoclonal antibodies: These drugs trigger the immune system to attack the virus.
- Stem cells: released preliminary data last year showing that its stem cell treatment could potentially benefit people with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This condition occurs in some people with severe COVID-19.
- Pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi are both working on a vaccine of their own.
However, Dr. Anthony Fauci( director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) told reporters that a vaccine won’t be available for widespread use for at least another 12 to 18 months.
There’s a lot of uncertainty with vaccine development, Lee said- Naturally you have to make sure the vaccine is safe but you also have to make sure the vaccine will elicit enough of an immune response.
Send Enquiry