Book contents
- Understanding Coronavirus
- Series page
- Understanding Coronavirus
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface to the Revised and Updated Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 How Is the Coronavirus Spreading?
- 3 What Is a Coronavirus?
- 4 How Is the Coronavirus Changing?
- 5 How Did the COVID-19 Outbreak Start and Evolve?
- 6 How Does the COVID-19 Outbreak Compare to the SARS Outbreak in 2003?
- 7 How Does the COVID-19 Outbreak Compare to Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza?
- 8 How Can We Treat the Virus and Prevent Infections?
- Conclusions
- Summary of Common Misunderstandings
- Suggested Further Reading
- Figure and Quotation Credits
- Index
8 - How Can We Treat the Virus and Prevent Infections?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 September 2021
- Understanding Coronavirus
- Series page
- Understanding Coronavirus
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface to the Revised and Updated Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 How Is the Coronavirus Spreading?
- 3 What Is a Coronavirus?
- 4 How Is the Coronavirus Changing?
- 5 How Did the COVID-19 Outbreak Start and Evolve?
- 6 How Does the COVID-19 Outbreak Compare to the SARS Outbreak in 2003?
- 7 How Does the COVID-19 Outbreak Compare to Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza?
- 8 How Can We Treat the Virus and Prevent Infections?
- Conclusions
- Summary of Common Misunderstandings
- Suggested Further Reading
- Figure and Quotation Credits
- Index
Summary
When the pandemic was declared in March 2020, there were no vaccines or tested specific antiviral therapies for the SARS-CoV-2 virus with confirmed significant reductions in mortality. The medical community at the time was overwhelmed by the rapid increase in the number of cases and the escalating number of hospitalizations and deaths. Unproven ideas, sporadic case reports, and confusing information populated the news, social media, and even technical journals. For instance, hydroxychloroquine was considered by some a miracle drug, by some ineffective, and by others damaging. Political interests and wishful thinking polluted any dispassionate assessment. It was unclear at the time the pandemic was declared whether an effective vaccine or treatment would be available within a couple of years.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Understanding Coronavirus , pp. 100 - 113Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021