The studies involving finding viable treatments for the novel coronavirus continue.
This is extremely important because not everyone on the planet can get the covid vaccine, and treatments are a vital part of ending the pandemic.
Check out the latest reports about new treatments that have just been released.
The quest for effective antiviral treatments
Medical News Today reveals that although high-income nations have achieved high vaccination rates, the unequal distribution of the vaccines has left low-income countries struggling to immunize their populations.
“This disparity in access to vaccines is highlighted by the fact that only 2.3% of individuals in low-income countries have received at least a single dose of the vaccine,” according to the online publication.
Until vaccines become available to the rest of the global population, effective antiviral treatments against the terrible disease triggered by the novel virus could help reduce fatalities and even hospitalizations.
More than that, as the same notes reveal, antiviral treatments could play a crucial role in the pandemic, especially in the case of new variants that are resistant to vaccines.
It’s also worth noting the fact that the FDA has approved some antiviral treatments but this does not mean that some of them may have shortcomings as well.
Such limitations include “the need for intravenous administration, limited availability, high costs, and therapeutic effects confined to a narrow time window.”
New antiviral drugs combo
A recent study published in the journal Viruses has revealed that a combination of two antiviral drugs, interferon-alpha (IFN-α) Trusted Source and nafamostat, was effective in combating SARS-CoV-2 infection.
“Here, we demonstrated that combinations of IFN-α with nafamostat appear to be effective for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 in cell culture and small animals. Moreover, the combinational therapies required lower drug concentrations than monotherapies, reducing side effects.”
This is what the study’s lead author Dr. Denis Kainov, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, just said.
He continued and said the following:
“Therefore, development of IFN-based combinations may lead to practical therapeutic options, especially for newly diagnosed SARS-CoV-2 positive [people] who have yet to develop severe disease.”
Stay tuned for more relevant news.
