An interesting update on antivirals from the NY Times today.How...

An interesting update on antivirals from the NY Times today.

How the Search for Covid-19 Treatments Faltered While Vaccines Sped Ahead

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/30/health/covid-drugs-antivirals.html?smid=wa-share

TLDR; Most of the effort has been in vaccine development at the expense of antivirals. Antiviral treatments are a particular mess because Trump was all into injecting bleach into people, and hydroxychloroquine meaning no coordination in testing. The antivirals focus is on existing drugs that can be readily deployed.

Also,

The pharmagiant Merck is running a large, late-stage trial on a pill called molnupiravir, originally developed by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics for influenza, which has been shown to cure ferrets of Covid-19. The trial’s first results could emerge as early as March.

Experts are particularly eager to see this data because molnupiravir may be effective in treating more than just Covid-19. In April, scientists found that the drug could also treat mice infected with other coronaviruses that cause SARS and MERS.

....Success here may help treating with the next Covid or existing coronavirus that currently have no cure.