COVID-19 therapeutical treatments could be ‘bridge’ to vaccine, says Dr Fauci

On September 26, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that the monoclonal antibodies from the recovered patients and other antiviral treatment might serve as a “bridge” to combat the coronavirus up until the arrival of the vaccine. Therapeutical treatments such as Gilead Sciences Inc.’s remdesivir, steroid dexamethasone, and other antibody-based medical treatment are being investigated for the use, Dr. Fauci said in an interview with the American Medical Association. The focus on the treatment of early infection and, or prevention of infection is the bridge to the vaccine, he said. 

As the global case count hit 33,058,557, the Director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) warned that those numbers had to be brought down, especially, with winters’ risk of influenza cases. SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in the US could begin as early as November or December, Dr. Fauci said as the US hit 7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. However, he warned that there could still be some time to restore pre-COVID normalcy. And even with immunizations, it will take at least the third quarter of 2021 before COVID-19 can be brought under control. At least 2 clinical trials of 30,000 volunteers are expected to conclude by the end of the year, US top infectious disease official said in the live-streamed interview, adding, the trials could be terminated early if the interim results were overwhelming. 

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700 million supply in the US

Fauci, speaking to the AMA, said that he had confidence in the independent members of the DSMB, who weren’t the government officials, to generate high standards without political influence or pressure. He added, that over 100 million doses of vaccine might be produced by as many as 6 leading manufacturers, making it a 700 million supply in the US by April 2021. A professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, Robert Schooley, also insisted that the existing antiviral treatment must be given more focus with no effective and safe coronavirus vaccine in the picture yet. The vaccine might not be 100 percent effective, he reiterated, adding, the efficacy of the oral antiviral drug should be considered to curb the early onset of disease. 

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(Image Credit: AP)