Press | Tuesday, 8 February 2022
Treatment of COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness: The Leopoldina recommends more intensive research on antiviral medications
The availability of highly effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 marks a great advancement in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, there is still an unmet need for antiviral medication. Firstly, effective and affordable antiviral agents specifically for the treatment of COVID-19 are required. Secondly, broad-spectrum antivirals that are effective against multiple forms of a virus family must be developed in preparation for future pandemics. This is the message from the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in their ad hoc statement "Antivirals against SARS-CoV-2: current situation and approaches to improved preparation for future pandemics", which is now available in English. In the publication, the scientists explain why antiviral agents are needed, how these can be discovered and developed, and what kind of organisational structures this requires.
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