HealthDay Reports: Lots of Drugs Are Being Tested Against COVID-19 — But Will Any Work?
Here's what we know so far about the COVID-19 drug treatments being tested.
Lots of Drugs Are Being Tested Against COVID-19 — But Will Any Work?
THURSDAY, April 23, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Dozens of drugs are being investigated for their value in treating COVID-19, as desperation drives doctors and researchers to look for something that could battle the virus and save lives.
"There are really no FDA-approved medications for the treatment of COVID-19, unfortunately," said Ashley Barlow, a pharmacy resident with the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. "We're doing the best we can to try and ramp up studies, but since we're doing it in such a quick period of time there are a lot of flaws we have to take into consideration."
The COVID-19 drugs being tried and tested fall into two general categories, explained Dr. Rajesh Gandhi, director of HIV clinical services and education at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston:
- Antivirals aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus inside the bodies of infected people.
- Immune system medications that limit the damage the body does to itself while fighting off the coronavirus.
"There are drugs we believe can help pull people through the natural evolution of this infection and can really make a difference," Gandhi said. "Right now, the jury is still out on some of these things that have been proposed. That's why we need to have clinical trials that will provide an answer."