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