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. 2020 Jun 12;7(7):ofaa232.
doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa232. eCollection 2020 Jul.

An Early Test-and-Treat Strategy for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2

Joshua T Schiffer  1   2   3 , Christine Johnston  1   3 , Anna Wald  1   3   4   5 , Lawrence Corey  1   3   4
Affiliations

An Early Test-and-Treat Strategy for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2

Joshua T Schiffer et al. Open Forum Infect Dis. .

Abstract

As coronavirus disease 2019 cases and deaths continue to expand globally, there is an urgent need to develop, test, and approve effective antiviral therapies. Currently, a majority of clinical trials are evaluating therapies in patients who are already hospitalized with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) infection. Given that the median time between development of symptoms and need for hospitalization is 1 week, a golden opportunity to intervene early is being missed. Indeed, for many other viral infections, early treatment soon after development of symptoms is associated with decreased mortality, lower hospitalization rates, and lower likelihood of transmission to others. In this study, we advocate for randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, clinical trials to evaluate promising agents early during SARS CoV-2 infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS CoV-2; antiviral therapy.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Schematic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in a symptomatic person. RNA, ribonucleic acid.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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