PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Imagine taking a prescription pill to treat COVID-19 at home. Well, researchers are doing more than imagining.
Lifesaving flu vaccines are being offered once again, but when it comes to the flu, vaccines are not our only weapon. Antivirals have been used for years to lessen the symptoms and save lives.
So, the question has come up: Why not COVID-19?
Researchers are not there yet, but scientific studies are being performed to look at antivirals attacking COVID-19. These pills are designed to block the ability of the virus to spread in human cells.
If this sounds familiar, it should. Similar thinking has been used to develop medications to treat HIV. In the mid and late 1980s, AIDS was considered a death sentence. Now, HIV can be treated before it develops into AIDS.
COVID-19 and HIV are very different viruses, but a good idea overall is worth investigating.
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KYW Newsradio’s Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.