The Biden administration on Thursday announced it would invest more than $3 billion from the American Rescue Plan to accelerate the discovery, development and manufacturing of Covid-19 antiviral medicines — ideally like a pill someone could easily take at home early in an illness.
“Vaccines clearly remained the centerpiece of our arsenal against Covid-19, however, antivirals can and are an important complement to existing vaccines, especially for individuals with certain conditions that might put them at a greater risk for those whom vaccines may not be as protective,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told reporters during a White House Covid-19 briefing. Fauci continued: “We know that there are many people who are immunosuppressed in which vaccines, at least initially, may not give an optimal response. And it also adds a line of defense against other unexpected emerging things like variants of concern that we are currently dealing with.” The Antiviral Program for Pandemics aims to develop safe and effective antivirals to combat Covid-19, and will help develop antivirals against other viruses with pandemic potential, according to NIAID.
