Even though life seems to be on pause right now due to social distancing, we are slowly flattening the curve. Our attempt to control this pandemic is working. The number of cases is going down and treatments are being studied every day across the country. In an effort to cure sick patients and prevent the virus from coming back, many clinical trials and treatments for COVID-19 are being conducted in medical clinics and hospitals. 

As of April 2020, 399 clinical types of research were identified by ClinicalTrials.gov that studies treatments, vaccines, and evaluates existing pharmaceutical products for COVID-19.

Potential Treatments for COVID-19

The world is working to fight against this virus and many communities are working together. We all want to defeat this virus and reverse the respiratory ailments that affect sickened individuals. This is why scientists are working hard to use antibodies from people after recovering from COVID-19 and other treatments for patients. 

To speed up the process of treating people infected with the disease, scientists have resorted to testing the use of alternative drugs that help other illnesses. These include the following:

• Antibody testing – still being worked on
• A drug that is formulated for rheumatoid arthritis – Sarilumab
• Another drug that targets parasites – Ivermectin
• Originally developed to combat Human Immunodeficiency Virus – Leronlimab
• A bacteria killer derived from another antibiotic – Azithromycin
• Anti-cancer medication that treats acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome – Bevacizumab
• Treatment for multiple sclerosis – Fingolimod

More Drugs Being Mentioned for COVID-19 Treatment

Avigan or favipiravir

Effects: This is a refurbished drug. Originally, it was made to treat influenza but was noted to have safely treated more than three hundred COVID-19 patients from China. It was also reported that this drug can help relieve symptoms of flu-like fever and coughs faster.

Route: There are two types of formulas for this drug, oral and intravenous.

Chloroquine

Effects: A malarial and amebicide drug that was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The action of this drug is to destroy the virus’ capability to penetrate the nucleus of normal cells. With that, it cannot copy and replicate the RNA necessary to interact with other cells. This is one of the drugs that help suppress the outbreak of SARS in 2002. Chloroquine is normally given with another derivative, hydroxychloroquine.

Route: This is given orally

EIDD-2801

Effects: This drug mutates the ribonucleic acid of the virus eventually preventing it to mutate with other cells that it normally affects.

Route: Taken orally

Lopinavir

Effects: This drug has been combined with ritonavir to become more effective. Although it was purposely made to fight another virus, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Lopinavir has been noted to block the action of a protein of the virus, eventually deforming it and losing its power to affect normal cells.

Route: Prepared in tablets or solutions given orally

In no time, there is a significant increase in chances of finding the cure for COVID-19 given how advanced we are; scientifically, medically, and technologically speaking.

Remdesivir

Effects: Ramdesivir was created in an attempt to combat Ebola when it was a pandemic. However, it failed to target that specific illness. It was, later on, found that it can protect human cells from SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome and MERS or Middle East respiratory syndrome. This drug tries to stop the virus from making replications, hence blocking its power to infect other cells.

Route: This drug is administered intravenously

While some health experts are hesitant about the use of these experimental treatments, others say we have no choice but to try to use them to save patients. With more clinical trials and treatments being tested, we will eventually find out what treatments should be used to treat COVID-19.