Is an antiviral drug specific for COVID-19 in development?

bowhouse

There are a number of existing antiviral drugs under investigation through clinical trials for use against COVID-19. Most of these drugs are already used for other viral conditions such as Ebola or HIV and some strains of seasonal flu, and none are yet clinically proven against COVID-19.

Remdesivir is an antiviral drug under investigation against COVID-19. It has now been approved for clinical use in the UK for specific hospitalised patients.

It is important to note that an opportunistic or secondary bacterial infection can develop in patients with COVID-19. This means we also need governments, globally, to ensure we are also focussing on developing new antibiotic treatments to reduce poor outcomes from the secondary bacterial infections and not just antiviral drugs for COVID-19 itself.

Category: COVID-19