USA TODAY International Edition
As emergency ends, we still need treatments
Vaccines cannot be our only tool to fight COVID; we desperately need new therapeutic choices
COVID- 19 was the greatest challenge I faced as the U. S. surgeon general. It tested our nation’s resolve, and yet we made great strides in countering this threat.
Key to this was Operation Warp Speed, which developed and delivered lifesaving vaccines in record time, showing what’s possible when government and industry collaborate for the common good.
Vaccines are critical and effective tools in our fight against COVID- 19, but they cannot be our only tool. It is clear that when the virus evades vaccines ( or when people choose not to take them), therapeutics become our best line of defense to prevent hospitalizations and death. As new elusive variants emerge faster than we can develop vaccines to fight them, new therapies become a more critical lifeline.
COVID- 19 remains the third leading cause of death in US
Coming off the heels of President Joe Biden’s recent announcement to end the COVID- 19 national and public health emergencies in May, it is more critical than ever to continue shifting the treat
ment paradigm and address the persistent unmet need for patients who are still at the greatest risk.
COVID- 19 remains the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind only cancer and heart disease.
Even as it becomes more endemic, hundreds of Americans are still dying daily, with most deaths now among the elderly, those with risk factors for severe COVID- 19 and immunocompromised individuals.
For high- risk patients, monoclonal antibodies have been critical in saving lives. Unfortunately, they are no longer effective against the most common currently circulating variants and have been pulled from the market.
As we continue to see new COVID- 19 variants and subvariants emerging in shorter time intervals and with unpredictable levels of severity, we are continually reminded that we are just one mutation away from the possibility of another pandemic.
And while bivalent vaccines have shown promise, only about 16% of the eligible U. S. population has opted to receive them, leaving more opportunities for this virus to continue evolving beyond our protective means.
Driven by the commitment to save lives, we must continue with urgency and focused efforts on innovative industry and government collaboration – particularly through accelerated development and provision of innovative oral COVID- 19 antiviral treatments. This is a critical part of pandemic preparedness, now and in the future.
Unfortunately, treatment development is not keeping pace with this everchanging virus. Medical professionals across the United States have told me that they are desperate for new therapeutic choices, including easy- to- take oral treatments that can be prescribed soon after the onset of COVID- 19 symptoms and prevent severe disease and hospitalization.
While existing antivirals are a muchneeded foundation, they are not an option for many patients and have limitations for already high- risk population groups, including drug- drug interactions – and reduced efficacy for people with compromised immune systems.
Collectively among industry and government sectors, it’s still our responsibility to ensure that these treatments get in the hands of patients as swiftly as possible to lessen the severity of COVID- 19 and reduce mortality for those at greater risk.
Delivering on treatments is a pillar of pandemic preparedness
The U. S. Food and Drug Administration shares these beliefs, and it is essential that the emergency use authorization, which allows the agency to respond more quickly, continue for new treatments when the criteria for issuance is met.
Despite the now anticipated end in May or sooner of the public health emergency declaration, and the unpredictable nature of COVID- 19, our collective commitment to develop and deliver efficacious treatments should continue as a pillar of pandemic preparedness.
We learned valuable lessons from COVID- 19 thus far, so we must apply them to the next phase of antiviral development to create oral treatment options that can help us finally put this pandemic in the history books where it belongs.