If You Skip the Vaccine, Study Says This Drug Could Save You from Some of the Worst COVID Outcomes

By Garion Frankel October 10, 2021 at 1:21pm

If you ask the Democrats, anyone who isn’t vaccinated against COVID-19 will die from the disease. No ifs or buts about it: no vaccine, you’re dead.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I support the COVID-19 vaccines.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with the decision not to get vaccinated, and I don’t begrudge anyone who makes that decision.

America is about choice, and choice means accepting risks. As Thomas Jefferson once wrote, in Latin, to James Madison: “I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.”

Fortunately, it seems as if unvaccinated Americans will be taking less of a risk going forward.

Remdesivir, an anti-viral drug originally designed to treat Hepatitis C, was the first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to battle COVID-19.

Even then, initial reports seemed to indicate the drug was only marginally beneficial.

Now, Remdesivir — which is injected — appears to be more effective than anyone believed.

According to the Daily Mail, a new study has found that, when administered early, Remdesivir reduces the risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19 by 87%, and the risk of needing any formal medical visit declined by 81%.

Will these medications help end the pandemic?

“Antiviral medications provide maximal benefit when used early in the disease course,” Dr. Robert L. Gottlieb, cardiologist and principal investigator at Baylor University Medical Center and Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, said in a statement on Sept. 22. “Last summer, data from clinical trials demonstrated the benefit of remdesivir in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, even when not yet requiring oxygen.

“These latest data show remdesivir’s potential to help high-risk patients recover before they get sicker and stay out of the hospital altogether.

“We are seeing very high numbers of hospitalized patients as new COVID-19 infections surge, placing increased demands on already over-burdened healthcare systems. Remdesivir, also known as Veklury, is an effective antiviral for the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and an essential tool to help reduce disease progression,” Gottlieb added.

Remdesivir isn’t the only drug showing promise. Molnupiravir, which comes in the form of a pill rather than an injection, is showing potential as well.

This could turn out to be one of the most important advances to counter Covid. Molnupiravir, a pill for 5 days (I’ll nickname “M-pack”) to markedly reduce hospitalization. Await details beyond press release, including safetyhttps://t.co/X1wR9K7vn0 by @matthewherper @statnews pic.twitter.com/hKBZC5Y71Z

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) October 1, 2021

Molnupiravir is a broad spectrum anti-viral that achieves “lethal mutagenesis” of #SARSCoV2. Unlike remdesivir, it’s a pill, it’s not repurposed, had solid data from a Phase 2 trial supporting potency + safety vs Covid https://t.co/TpDUE3Ty1e @nature The mechanism of action ? pic.twitter.com/jWET5JJKrJ

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) October 1, 2021

All in all, “the science” never should have tried to convince people that there was only one way out of the pandemic. Vaccines are a big one, but they are only one piece of the puzzle.

Hopefully, these new drugs will ensure that people who wish to remain unvaccinated can do so safely — and give wannabe authoritarians one less mechanism to pursue power.

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