N THE WORLD of drug discovery, it is not uncommon for a promising molecule to take a decade to make the journey from the laboratory to the pharmacy shelf. For covid-19, however, effective treatments are already in use at hospitals around the world. There is a good chance that more treatments will be added to the list in 2021—including some that will dramatically reduce the number of covid-19 sufferers who need to be hospitalised.
With luck, at least one of the additions in 2021 will be a drug that prevents infected people from becoming ill. Such drugs are already used for influenza, rabies and many other diseases. For covid-19, the drug would be given to people who are at an early stage of infection. It could also be administered as a prophylaxis, both to those at high risk of catching the virus and those likely to become severely ill .
Scientists will also begin to demystify the lasting, often hidden, effects of the disease on the heart and other parts of the body. Monitoring for such effects, and providing early treatment as needed, would soften any delayed blows from a covid-19 infection, including in people who may be unaware of having caught the virus. Studies looking for such effects have been running since mid-2020, and results will start to trickle in during the coming months.
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