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.
