What are the treatments for the Coronavirus disease?
Unfortunately, there are no definitely proven drugs or vaccines for the coronavirus treatment at this stage. Medicines used for treatment so far are similar to the medicines used in the symptomatic treatment of flu or viral infections (symptom suppressors, antipyretics, pain relievers, infection suppressors, etc.).
MedicinesSince there is no proven treatment yet, most of the drugs previously used in anti-viral treatment (treatment of virus-related diseases) have been tried in the treatment of coronavirus as well. It has been observed that some anti-viral drugs provide some progress in patients, despite the fact that their effects have not been fully revealed yet. In general, as part of the anti-viral treatment,
- Drugs containing Lopinavir / Ritonavir as the active ingredients are used in combination with Arbidol (as the Basic Treatment Regime),
- Chloroquine Phosphate is used for adults between 18 and 65 years of age (only if the Basic Treatment Regime is not effective and in patients with intolerance to Lopinavir / Ritonavir),
- Darunavir / Cobicistat may be applied (drugs containing anti-viral active substances that have been previously observed to provide positive effects in HIV-related AIDS disease), and
- Corticosteroids / Glucocorticoids are applied if rapidly progressing lesions are observed in Computerized Tomography (CT) (to suppress the immune system if the patient has developed Cytokine Oscillation Syndrome) (LINK).
The most important point to be considered in drug treatment is that the side effects (contraindications) of the mentioned drugs are extremely strong and the patient should be constantly monitored. Potential side effects including diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, lactic acid increase, jaundice, kidney damage, dizziness, headache and cardiac arrest should be regularly checked.
In addition to drug treatment, oxygen therapy (Nebulization / Mechanical Ventilation) can be applied in case of the rapid deterioration of respiratory functions (Hypoxemia) due to Covid-19. Treatment can be discontinued when the oxygen saturation (SpO2) marker rises above 93% (normal value), because it has been observed that patients intubated for oxygen therapy have become extremely susceptible to secondary infections.
Vaccines
As it is known, there is no developed and proven vaccine treatment for the coronavirus yet. As experts state all the time, for vaccine treatments that are tried to be developed from scratch for any disease, a period of at least 12-18 months is required. The reason for this is hidden in the very nature of vaccine therapy: The main logic in vaccine therapy is to inject disease-causing antigens to the body at a certain level, in order to ensure that the body in turn develops a defense against this limited-intensity enemy (antigen) (produces antibodies) and becomes familiar with this enemy for any future infection. It is precisely for this reason that the exact complications an antigen may cause in the body can be only seen by making trials on many people. Following the development of a vaccine, perhaps the more challenging part, it is produced in billions of quantity and applied to all people in the world. Thus, it can be easily said that we are still far from this point.
Historically, the production and distribution capacity for vaccines were once a priority of governments. Essentially, we suffer the consequences of the transition from policies prioritizing public health (non-profit public health policies) to an era in which the interests of pharmaceutical companies are prioritized. Giant pharmaceutical companies called the “Big Pharma” have already stopped investing in vaccines with their billions dollars of budgets, because vaccines are not the most profitable treatment method for them. They instead prefer to make profit through symptomatic drug treatments and supplements with very high margins. The giant pharmaceutical companies, which are now tired of the compensation cases of the "vaccine opponents", have withdrawn investments from vaccine development programs, supported by the fact that governments also no longer provide support for such programs. In short, as the humankind, we all go through a period of destruction created by the prioritization of corporate profit over public health and substitution of belief in science by ungrounded belief in conspiracy theories.
Coronavirus healing Plasma treatmentPlasma treatment is basically the transfer of blood containing antibodies that have produced against the virus in the body of a previously infected person, to another person who is suffering from the disease, thus copying the antibody's memory of fighting the virus for the new patient to support the development of his or her own army against the virus. Healing Plasma Treatment, like the vaccine treatment method, is a pathogen-specific immunotherapy method, which works on the assumption that the body will develop its own immunity to the antigen. This method, which was first tried in diphtheria disease in 1891, has been used in infectious diseases since then with variable rates of success.
Since the beginning of April, more and more doctors are making blood plasma infusions to their patients with Covid-19 from people who have survived the disease. However, the success of this method regarding coronavirus has not been fully proven yet and it requires regular donation of blood by healthy people.
Does anti-inflammatory medicine work?
High body temperature is actually an indication of the fight started by our body against infections. In this respect, while some physicians recommend the use of antipyretics to relieve patients, others object to this view, arguing that the use of antipyretics actually prolongs the course of certain diseases, since the immune system is actually suppressed in its fight. There is no exact information about what to do in the case of coronavirus on this subject yet.