President Trump has received off-label, novel immunotherapy investigational drug combinations to fight his COVID-19 infection.
In the meantime, the country suffers from 46,500 new cases on average per day, and it’s now clear vaccines will likely not be widely available for several months. So, if treatment for the virus is currently the only option, many Americans wonder if they, too, should receive the president’s treatment should they become infected with SARS-CoV2.
First, it’s essential to understand the course of treatment Trump is receiving.
Amongst other drugs, he is getting an immunotherapy drug combination of monoclonal antibodies made by Regeneron. The investigational agent, REGN-COV2, combines two antibodies targeted against a critical protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which early data showed rapidly reduced viral load and lowered the COVID-19 symptoms.
The president is also receiving Remdesivir, a drug that, on March 20, 2020, was made available for people with COVID-19 without meeting the enrollment criteria for the clinical trial in progress. Later, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for it as well.
Again, both treatments the president is receiving have not been peer-reviewed or gone through the traditional safety and regulation measures. In medicine and science, we shy away from rushing processes, as it can have dire consequences. But, as the number of active cases grows and states fail to contain the virus, the dire need is now.
Some may argue that the attention should be on fast-tracking a vaccine.
But while the scientific community, academic centers, and pharmaceutical companies are working full steam ahead to develop a safe and effective one, it may take a long time. Rigorous clinical testing is required before disseminating a vaccine to the general public to ensure there aren’t widespread complications.
In comparison, the number of people suffering from severe COVID-19 symptoms, though still high, is less than doling hundreds of millions of vaccine doses. Plus, a vaccine won’t help those patients and those infected in the coming months. Right now, the treatment of the virus is the only course of action.
It is impressive that the medical and scientific community could advance science so fast to address the lack of therapeutics for COVID-19.
Just a handful of months ago, we had few treatment options that worked for the infected patients. Now we have options, randomized clinical trials, and expedited approvals, something that allowed Trump to have access to the combination treatment he’s receiving.
So, civilians should at least have the same access as the president. The risk is lower, and the outcome could save thousands of lives.
So far, these antibody treatments have not shown serious safety concerns, and the treatment-related adverse events were comparable to placebo. Plus, based on Remdesivir’s EUA, I believe that in an uncontrolled pandemic, the treatment the president is receiving meets the FDA’s standards for emergency authorization for the general public.
If the treatment is deemed safe enough for the leader of the free world, it should be available to every American infected with the coronavirus.
