Good news in the fight against coronavirus: possible treatments, vaccines and findings

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Antibody treatment for covid-19 1:20

(CNN) - Six months after the world first learned of coronavirus, the disease that later became a pandemic and put much of the world in confinement, there is still no vaccine, which is the closest thing to a definitive solution. to the virus that has caused a collapse of the economy and has most of the global borders still closed. But it is not all bad news: some Asian and European countries are reporting fewer and fewer infections and have begun to reopen as they win the battle against the virus. Furthermore, there are promising advances in different treatments to mitigate the symptoms of covid-19, and possible vaccines are still in process.

Check out this good news:

1.Dexametasone, the medicine that gives hope to seriously ill covid-19 patients

According to researchers in the UK, dexamethasone, a widely available steroid medicine, may be key in helping to treat the sickest covid-19 patients in hospital who require ventilation or oxygen. Their findings are preliminary, still being compiled, and have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but an outside expert called this a "breakthrough."

The two lead investigators of the Recovery Trial, a large UK clinical trial investigating possible treatments for covid-19, announced to reporters at a virtual press conference on Tuesday that a low-dose dexamethasone regimen was found to be during 10 days reduces the risk of death by one third among hospitalized patients in the trial requiring ventilation.

READ more here

2. A drug inspired by an ancient treatment may be "the big step" against covid-19

At least five teams in the United States have cloned covid-19 antibodies, paving the way for innovative treatments that could be what one researcher calls "an immunity bridge" before a vaccine is available.

The treatment is called monoclonal antibody therapy, and these antibodies come from people who have recovered from the coronavirus. The researchers then take the blood, select the most powerful antibodies, and make them into a medicine.

One company, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, hopes to have a treatment available to patients by the end of this summer.

"I think monoclonal antibody therapy holds enormous promise as the next big step against covid-19," said Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine specialist at Baylor University School of Medicine, who is not participating in the investigation.

Monoclonal antibody therapy is a modern version of convalescent plasma, in which a person who has recovered from the coronavirus donates blood to someone who is currently ill.

Read more here.

3. An Existing Polio Vaccine May Help Protect Against Coronavirus

There is plenty of evidence that existing vaccines, such as polio vaccines, protect children against a wide range of infections and are worth testing against the new coronavirus, a team of experts wrote in the journal Science on June 11.

An oral polio vaccine is safe, cheap, easy to administer, and widely available, with more than 1 billion doses produced and used annually in more than 140 countries, according to the team, which includes a man who discovered HIV and a Vaccine expert from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The vaccine has almost eradicated polio worldwide.

The oral polio vaccine uses a weakened version of the polio virus. Live, attenuated vaccines produce a strong and long-lasting immune response, vaccine experts said. They are slower to manufacture than modern vaccines that only use one piece of genetic material from a virus, and American and European companies working on coronavirus vaccines are focusing on faster ways.

It would make sense to at least test it to see if it helps against the coronavirus, said Konstantin Chumakov of the FDA and Dr. Robert Gallo of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland, along with their colleagues.

Read more here

4. The vaccine could be ready sometime in early 2021

Vaccines in development worldwide are in various stages of testing. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he is confident that one of the vaccine candidates will prove to be safe and effective by the first quarter of 2021.
But it is not yet clear which candidate is the most promising.

Meanwhile, the US government It is helping companies like Moderna accelerate the development of their vaccines so that, if they are proven to work safely, they can be implemented quickly.

"In early 2021, we expect to have a couple of hundred million doses," Fauci said.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, made a similar forecast: "If all goes well, up to 100 million doses may be possible in early 2021."

But many doctors say that getting an effective vaccine by January is a very ambitious goal.

"Everything will have to be incredibly perfect if that is to happen," said Dr. Larry Corey, an expert in virology, immunology and vaccine development.

Read more about how vaccines progress here

5. Remdesivir is so far the only drug tested for covid-19. But it has some limitations ...

The researchers published this May 22 the data that led the federal government to recommend the use of the antiviral drug remdesivir in very sick patients with coronavirus, but they say that the drug alone will not be enough to help patients.

The data, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that the drug shortened the course of the disease from an average of 15 days to about 11 days.

"The preliminary results of this trial suggest that a 10-day remdesivir treatment was superior to placebo in treating inpatients with covid-19," the researchers wrote. But it was not a cure and it did not act quickly.

"These preliminary findings support the use of remdesivir for patients who are hospitalized with covid-19 and require supplemental oxygen therapy," the researchers wrote, led by a team from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"However, given the high mortality despite the use of remdesivir, it is clear that treatment with just one antiviral drug is probably not enough," they added. "Future strategies should evaluate antiviral agents in combination with other therapeutic approaches or combinations of antiviral agents to continue to improve outcomes for covid-19 patients."

6. Masks and social distancing are our best weapon

The "most comprehensive study to date" found that physical distance and perhaps the use of a mask or chinstrap were the two best ways to prevent transmission of the new coronavirus.

The new study, published in the Lancet medical journal on June 1, found that people should stay at least a meter away and more if possible.

The review of several published studies, paid for by the World Health Organization, had three main findings:

Physical distance: The possibility of transmission at a distance of less than 1 meter (3.3 feet) was 12.8%, while it fell to 2.6% at a distance of more than 1 meter. He added that distances of 2 meters could be more effective. He said the certainty of the evidence was "moderate".

Facial masks: The chance of transmission without a face mask or respirator (such as an N95 mask) was 17.4%, while it dropped to 3.1% when wearing a mask. However, the certainty of the evidence was "low".

Eye Protection: The potential for transmission without eye protection was set at 16%, compared to 5.5% with some form of eye protection such as a face shield, visor, goggles, or glasses. However, the certainty of the evidence was "low".

The World Health Organization is calling on nations to encourage the general public to wear cloth masks in areas where there is still an intense spread of the new coronavirus, and for all health workers and caregivers to wear medical masks during their shift. while in clinical areas.

7. Famotidine, a medicine for reflux, helped patients at home

Famotidine is used in the treatment of stomach ulcers, indigestion, heartburn and reflux, explains the Mayo Clinic.

It is the main component of medicines like Pepcid and Fluxid and is part of the group of substances known as H2 blockers. "It works by decreasing the amount of acid in the stomach," explains the Mayo Clinic.

According to a study published this June 4, ten people who were home sick with covid-19 may have found relief with a common over-the-counter heartburn remedy.

A co-author of the study emphasized that this is a small group of patients. Still, he said he was "encouraged" by the results and now plans to do a larger outpatient study on famotidine, the over-the-counter ingredient in Pepcid.

"We want to know how best to care for these patients and keep them out of the hospital so they feel better sooner," said Dr. Joseph Conigliaro, a physician at Northwell Health in New York and co-author of the article.

In the report, published in the medical journal Gut, all but one of the study subjects took the medication within 10 days of first experiencing symptoms such as cough and shortness of breath. The tenth patient took it 26 after symptoms started. They were between 23 and 71 years old.

A clinical trial by the Feinstein Institutes of Medical Research at Northwell Health, which runs 23 hospitals in New York City, also studied famotidine after observing that some patients in China taking the drug fared better than patients who they did not take it.

Patients in the hospital study are taking megadoses intravenously, about nine times more than what someone would normally take for heartburn.

8. Early results of convalescent plasma study are encouraging, researchers say

Patients hospitalized for covid-19 appear to do better when they receive infusions of convalescent plasma filled with antibodies, according to a study published May 22.

The study has not been peer-reviewed or published in an academic journal, but the researchers said the findings are a good sign for plasma therapy, which is derived from the blood of patients recovered from covid-19.

"We are encouraged that our initial evaluation offers evidence to support convalescent plasma as an effective intervention," Dr. Nicole Bouvier, associate professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and co-author of the study, said in a statement.

The researchers "are aware that additional studies are needed to confirm these findings and draw more definitive conclusions in different populations," he said.

The new study was small. He compared 39 patients who received convalescent plasma with "matched controls," patients who received no plasma but were similar to those who did.

It was not a traditional clinical trial because patients were not randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a control group. Instead, controls were selected after the fact using an algorithm.

Still, patients who received plasma saw better survival. As of May 1, approximately 13% of patients who received the treatment had died, compared to 24% of those who did not receive the treatment.

The researchers said that larger studies were needed, but noted that the mortality benefit was limited to patients who did not need a breathing tube.

"We did not see a significant benefit of convalescent plasma in intubated patients, according to previous literature demonstrating that passive antibody transfer therapies are more effective at the onset of disease," they wrote.

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