COVID drugs, vaccines, and Fauci on returning to normal

Cases of COVID are rising again in many parts of the United States as Delta variants become established among unvaccinated populations. Although there is still a shortage of antiviral drugs given in the early stages of infection to prevent severe COVID symptoms and hospitalization, New Biden Administration Initiatives I hope to change that. The Pandemic Control Program (APP) is spending more than $ 3 billion to support research on drugs for coronaviruses as well as other viruses that may have a pandemic.

Scientific American Anthony Fauci, longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, has been told by the government to promote immunization in low-vaccination areas We talked about our ongoing efforts and what is being maintained. He got up at night.

[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]

What are the goals of an antiviral program for a pandemic?

The program has two components. Accelerate clinical trials of promising antivirals at various stages of the development pipeline and expand the basic science and knowledge needed to discover new antivirals. The driving force is COVID. But if the APP succeeds (and I believe it will), it can be directed against any virus that has the potential for a pandemic. We need to build a strong public-private partnership to successfully develop antiviral drugs for HIV and hepatitis C. The important thing to remember is that if you can block acute viral pathogens in the early stages of infection, you can avoid progressing to advanced stages of the disease.

Can you tell us something about the drug currently under consideration?

There are some medicines out there.For example, Pfizer’s protease inhibitors [currently known as PF-07321332], Merck’s Molnupiravir drug and Atea Pharmaceuticals drug [AT-527].. The purpose of APP is to develop a more robust pipeline.

COVID antivirals work most effectively during the first week or so of infection. Wouldn’t it create a logistical hurdle for treatment?

That is absolutely correct. During the acute phase of the disease, the drug needs to be administered quickly. This is a different paradigm than how to treat the chronic infections HIV and hepatitis C. The 7-day period can be a bit difficult from a strategic point of view. As a result, we are also developing certain sensitive COVID diagnostic tests so that you can see what you are dealing with and treat people quickly and effectively.

What about variants such as Delta? Can they reduce the effectiveness of the drug over time?

Obviously, you need to worry that variants can be problematic for antivirals. [may be] For vaccines and monoclonal antibodies. However, our goal with these drugs is that they are also components of the virus that are important for replication and may not be destroyed by mutants. This is also the reason why multiple drugs are needed. This is the same approach used for HIV when it finally turned out that one drug was not as effective as a combination of multiple drugs. In addition, as you have correctly pointed out, potentially pandemic viruses usually cause acute infections. And since you only need to treat people for a relatively short period of time, the induction of mutations that limit the effectiveness of the drug may be less likely than when you are literally treating people for life. Hmm.

The Biden administration failed to meet its goal of at least partially immunizing 70% of the US population by July 4. What can we do about vaccine rejection, which is a major obstacle to achieving herd immunity?

our [vaccination goal] We didn’t mean to stop pushing more people to get vaccinated, well beyond the fourth, because we didn’t reach it. That’s why we do everything we can to make vaccines readily available and to make sure people, especially young people, are listening to trusted messengers. We work with local community leaders and COVID-19 Community Corps Initiative. There is a mobile unit to facilitate vaccination. We do our best to get unvaccinated people to think seriously about how important it is to put an end to this pandemic to themselves, family safety, and community responsibilities. I am. And the way to put an end to this pandemic is to vaccinate as many people as possible.

What do you care about when society is open and people are about to return to normal life?

Proper monitoring should be done to ensure that there are no signs of infection, especially in states, cities and counties with low immunization rates. Currently, there are tools to effectively control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in this country. And unfortunately, there are some disparities in the willingness of people in different parts of the country to get vaccinated. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the regional surge in these areas.

Are you getting enough sleep these days?

number [laughs]!! Unfortunately, I’m not.