The United States still has much progress to make on stopping the spread of COVID-19. Last week, Clark County Public Health reported 846 new cases and nine new deaths attributed to the virus.
While we can hope for a day when coronavirus is essentially eliminated in this country — much like smallpox and polio, which were serious public-health threats generations ago — the disease is likely to be with us for a long time. Although efforts must continue to prevent COVID-19, treatment methods are equally important. Learning to live with the virus — and assisting with recovery — is part of managing an infectious disease.
Notably, researchers have made progress is identifying and developing pills to help treat COVID-19. That is promising; pills are easy to ship and store, making them viable for widespread distribution. Dexamethasone, for example, a relatively cheap steroid, has been shown to significantly reduce the hospital mortality rate in severe COVID cases. And Fluvoxamine, an inexpensive, generic antidepressant, has been shown to reduce hospitalizations and deaths.
But progress must be made on treatments for patients who contract the virus but do not require hospitalization. For now, the strategy for those with mild symptoms is essentially to stay home and avoid spreading the virus. Vox.com reports: “The one outpatient treatment authorized for emergency use and widely available in the U.S. is monoclonal antibodies, which work quite well but must be administered as either a single IV infusion or a series of four shots in a medical setting.”
The lack of proven medications — along with misinformation — have contributed to a clamor for unproven drugs.
Some patients have come to consider ivermectin as an appropriate treatment. The drug, typically used for livestock but sometimes given to humans in small doses to combat river blindness, scabies and head lice, has become a flashpoint in debates about COVID. The Washington State Department of Health warns: “Although it is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of some parasitic worms, external parasites and skin conditions, evidence shows it is ineffective against treating the COVID-19 virus and the side effects can be potentially dangerous.”
Meanwhile, research continues into pills designed to treat coronavirus symptoms.
Merck is conducting studies on molnupiravir, and the federal government has committed to purchasing 1.7 million doses of the drug for about $700 apiece once it is approved or authorized for emergency use. As a side note: Merck is manufacturing molnupiravir in developing countries at a much cheaper price.
And Pfizer is developing a drug called Paxlovid, which is designed to block an enzyme the virus requires to reproduce itself.
As with the COVID vaccines produced by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, treatments are undergoing rigorous testing to ensure safety and effectiveness. Those vaccines, meanwhile, remain the best way to reduce the spread of the virus. In Washington, according to a report released Wednesday by the Department of Health, unvaccinated people aged 35-64 are 18 times more likely to be hospitalized than fully vaccinated people in that age group. Illnesses and hospitalization rates are much higher for the unvaccinated in every age cohort.
But even if vaccinations were universal, breakthrough cases would dictate that COVID-19 is here to stay. Effectively treating the virus is essential for learning to live with it.
