As Covid continues, so does the need for new treatments

With the Covid-19 Delta variant continuing to wreak havoc across Europe and the U.S., the full spectrum of potential treatment options must be on the table in order to secure the best defense against the ongoing pandemic. Treatments that are shown to be safe and effective against Covid-19 variants and, critically, lessen the intensity and duration of Covid-19 symptoms for hospitalized patients (vaccinated or not) must be examined thoroughly by government regulators and scientists to ensure that all options are on the table in the battle against Covid-19 that is currently far from won.

A double-dose of Pfizer/BioNTech’s or Moderna’s mRNA vaccines – or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson – are demonstrating high efficacy. We know that more than 90% of the individuals hospitalized with Covid-19 are indeed unvaccinated. While the US just surpassed President Joe Biden’s goal of a 70% vaccination rate, skepticism about the vaccine in key pockets of the country remains – especially in light of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest seeming reversal on mask mandates.

Delta variant a lurking danger

Reluctance to receive a jab is prevalent in states like Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Wyoming, and for different reasons. Meanwhile, the new Delta variant’s ability to proliferate among unvaccinated parts of the country continues to cause alarm among public health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Those five aforementioned states, along with other parts of America where vaccination rates remain below 50%, are Covid-19 brushwood that could be set alight by the fast-spreading Delta variant. In the UK, for example, the Delta variant first showed up in test results at the end of April. By mid-June, it accounted for 90% of all new cases in the country. As recently as June 8, the Delta variant comprised just 6% of new US diagnoses, but is now responsible for almost all of new cases.

Amidst a number of grim developments ( Lambda variant may break vaccine immunity more easily than any other variant, vaccinated people can spread the Delta variant with ease), the good news is that research from Public Health England (PHE) suggests a double-dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines still offer more than 90% protection from severe disease caused by the Delta variant, while Johnson & Johnson’s research finds its own vaccine to be effective against the new strain as well.

However, the flare-up of Delta infections across the US is now threatening to upend promises of a “hot vax summer”, as complacency in attitudes towards the disease begin to creep back in. In preparation for that, the Biden administration has set aside $3 billion for anti-viral drug development aimed at combating Covid-19 symptoms, with a further $1.2 billion earmarked for investigating therapies for other viruses.

Expanding the arsenal

The fact that only one treatment (remdesivir) has received full approval to date – and that it has shown limited success thus far – indicates just how sorely those funds are needed, as the US National Institutes of Health scrambles to find viable drug candidates to keep hospitalization and fatality rates to a minimum.

There are currently a few potential options. For example, the Department of Defense (DoD) is funding research into the effectiveness of a drug called fostamatinib – already approved by the FDA to treat chronic immune thrombocytopenia – for the treatment of hospitalized Covid-19 patients, to the tune of $16.5 million. As Dr. Jason Roos of the Department’s Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) made clear in announcing the award: “The DoD is pleased to support this effort, since repurposing an existing FDA-approved drug product for potential application as a Covid-19 treatment saves time and cost, enabling a much more rapid response to the pandemic.”

Therapeutics like fostamatinib could ultimately make the difference between life and death for unvaccinated Americans. At their peak in mid-April, vaccination sites welcomed more than 3 million people through their doors each day; that figure has now slumped to just over 500,000. Disparities among states and counties remain high, with some states surpassing the benchmark of 70% vaccinated while others are stuck below 40%.

From that perspective, it’s not difficult to see why the NIH and the rest of the US government continue to want to add to the armamentarium in the fight against a virus that remains difficult to control and whose future is uncertain.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the management of EconoTimes