We have beaten the virus medically, treatment could be done on an outpatient basis for less severe cases, takes a daily IV drip for 5 days. But still most people wont need any drugs or medical attention. Time to reopen the country is now.
What can initial remdesivir data tell us about tackling COVID-19?
In fact, remdesivir is one of only two highly effective compounds to come out of six years of screening against coronaviruses, says Mark Denison, a coronavirus expert and director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Denison has collaborated with labs at the University of North Carolina and elsewhere to find small molecules that keep coronaviruses from replicating—and still work if the virus mutates.
The other effective compound, EIDD-2801, was discovered by Emory University chemists and recently licensed to Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
One reason so many compounds failed is that coronaviruses are a little smarter than other RNA viruses. They’re the only ones with a polymerase that can fix errors in their genomes, meaning they can spot and ignore the mimics that drug hunters typically design. Denison’s lab found that remdesivir, like EIDD-2801, can bypass that proofreading function.
EIDD-2801 is a PILL, so even better.
Emory-discovered antiviral is poised for COVID-19 clinical trials
