Money for antivirals, $3.2 billion
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/06/17/drugs-for-covid/?utm_campaign=wp_to_your_health&utm
Anthony S. Fauci, David Kessler, chief science officer for the covid-19 response
Reinvigorate the nation’s antiviral program
and test whether existing drugs show promise
David Kessler
We need this set of tools to close out this pandemic.
The hard thing is to recognize with all the success, there’s still several hundred deaths a day.
Coronavirus first, then other potential pandemic viruses
Pre orders for this pandemic, before they have been shown to work
Ann Kwong, virologist, (hepatitis C antiviral)
Investors are totally uninterested in antivirals.
What they really want is a chronic treatment
Nobody ever gets cured of high cholesterol
Antivirals, 5 to 10 days
Last week, administration committed $1.2 billion
1.7 million doses of molnupiravir (if approved)
Merck and Ridgeback
Effect of Ivermectin on Anopheles gambiae Mosquitoes Fed on Humans: The Potential of Oral Insecticides in Malaria Control
https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/202/1/113/888773
it was licensed for human use and was used in mass drug administration programs
to control river blindness; it was administered to more than 80 million adults and children.
The drug has proven to be safe.
Doses up to 10 times the approved limit are well tolerated by healthy volunteers
Adverse reactions are few and usually mild
Barcelona Institute for Global Health
https://www.isglobal.org/en/healthisglobal/-/custom-blog-portlet/questions-and-answers-about-ivermectin-and-covid-19/2877257/0
More than three billion treatments have been distributed in the context of the Mectizan Donation Program alone
With an excellent safety profile.
Most adverse reactions are mild, transitory
and associated with parasite death rather than with the drug itself.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/coronavirus-ivermectin-efficacy-safety-most-important-top-who-scientist-warns-against-ivermectin-use-2439290
Safety and efficacy are important when using any drug for a new indication.
WHO recommends against use of ‘ivermectin’ for COVID-19 except within clinical trials
Bram Rochwerg, McMaster University
Co-chair, WHO panel that reviewed ivermectin
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ivermectin-idUSKBN2BN2HH
We certainly need more data in order to make informed decisions
We did see an increase in adverse effects in patients that were randomised to ivermectin
Repurposed drugs, there can be more harm than any good
Merck Statement on Ivermectin use During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Merck Statement on Ivermectin use During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies.
Source