It’s been a year and a half since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and treatment options are still limited for people who don’t have a more severe form of the virus. While monoclonal antibody treatments are gaining in popularity, they’re technically only recommended for those who are considered high risk for serious complications of the virus.
But that may change in the future. Both Pfizer and Merck are working on a so-called “COVID pill” that could help treat people with the virus who aren’t at risk of developing severe illness. Meaning, if these medications work out, there could eventually be a drug available that you could take when you have COVID-19 that could work like Tamiflu does on the flu, says William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. To read the full story.