Could COVID pills help turn the pandemic tide in Michigan? – Bridge Michigan
But to be able to treat COVID before it spins out of control is astonishing, said Hamed.
“Last year at this time, we had nothing – no vaccines, no real treatment, no monoclonal antibodies — nothing,” he said.
But some worry, too, that such a pill will be another reason for the vaccine-hesitant to skip the shot altogether.
Hamed in the Thumb said some nurses have talked about the “COVID pill,” and he wonders if it’s another reason to “buck the vaccine mandate,” referring to mandates like the federal rule that millions of workers must be vaccinated by Jan. 4.
It’s unclear to what extent the drugs — even if they are as effective as the manufacturers say — halt transmission of the virus. Nor is it clear how well they protect against long COVID symptoms that can occur even with mild disease.
“It’s always going to be better to prevent a disease than to try to treat it,” said Hamed.
Vaccine refusal is no reason to withhold the drugs’ development or the treatments they promise, said Dr. James Terrian, medical director for LMAS Health Department, which covers four counties in the eastern Upper Peninsula.
“Some folks have said they won’t be immunized. I’m not able to get into their heads” to understand the reasons, he said, adding about the antiviral drugs: “Whatever helps them stay alive, I’m all for it.”