COVID-19, host response treatment, and the need for political leadership

Health officials and scientists have warned that we face the threat of a potentially devastating influenza pandemic. Instead, we are now in the midst of a global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. National and international pandemic preparedness plans have focused on developing vaccines and antiviral treatments. Another way to confront the COVID-19 pandemic (and future pandemics) might be to treat patients with inexpensive and widely available generic drugs that target the host response to infection, not the virus itself. The feasibility of this idea was tested during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014. This experience should inform our approach to treating COVID-19 patients. It could also save lives during outbreaks of other emerging infectious diseases and episodes of everyday acute critical illness. If this bottom up syndromic approach to treating acute critical illness were shown to be effective, it could have a dramatic impact on health, equity and security throughout the world.

Automated summary

Health officials and scientists are warning of a potentially devastating influenza pandemic, but we are currently facing the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. To effectively treat patients, using inexpensive and widely available drugs targeting the host response rather than the virus itself could be a promising approach.