1. The COVID-19 Pandemic—A Potential Role for Antivirals in Mitigating Pandemics.
- Author
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Neumann, Gabriele and Kawaoka, Yoshihiro
- Subjects
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COVID-19 pandemic , *HERD immunity , *ANTIVIRAL agents , *VACCINE hesitancy , *MEDICAL care - Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a stark reminder that outbreaks of novel pathogens (i.e., those not previously encountered by humans) have always plagued mankind and will continue to do so. The COVID-19 pandemic has also taught us that a single exposure to a novel pathogen is typically not sufficient to build robust population immunity that exists against common respiratory viruses. Robust population-level immunity can be achieved through repeated natural infection (typically at the cost of high mortality and overwhelmed public health resources) and/or repeated vaccination (which may be limited by vaccine availability, a country's economic resources, and/or vaccine hesitancy). Here, we suggest that the broader use of antivirals could be a mitigation strategy to limit severe disease and the burden on healthcare systems during widespread virus circulation while allowing the buildup of population immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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