COVID-19 therapy roundtable: Defining the virus today and treatment options
In our latest roundtable series, we cover different therapies around COVID-19 treatment and prevention.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) views COVID-19 as an endemic virus.1 Essentially it is circulating inperpetuityand we will witnessebbs and flows in prevalence. And certainly during the holiday season, respiratory virus incidence rates can increase due to a number of factors including families and friends gatheringtogether, travel increases, and people are in closed environments because of the winter climate.
All clinicians, public health officials, and interested stakeholders will always stress the importance of vaccination as the best way to prevent or reduce the severity of COVID-19. Inevitably, people will get infected, especially as the statistics for vaccination are down.
A recent CDC MMWR report published a few weeks ago offered insights on the vaccination statistics so far into the respiratory virus season. “As of November 9, 2024, cumulative estimated coverage with 2024–2025 influenza and COVID-19 vaccines among adults aged ≥18 years was 34.7% and 17.9%, respectively. Estimated RSV vaccination coverage was 39.7% among adults aged ≥75 years and 31.6% among those aged 60–74 years at increased risk,” the authors wrote.2
In this first roundtable episode, the panel touch upon what COVID-19 is at the end of 2024, offers insights on FDA approved antivirals, and the limited treatment options in the pediatric population.
Our panel of clinicians includes:
- Tina Tan, MD, professor of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
- Scott Roberts, MD, associate medical director of Infection Prevention, Yale School of Medicine
- James Wilson, DO, critical care physician in private practice
- Michael Curulewski, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP, BCGP infectious diseases and antimicrobial stewardship pharmacist, Endeavor health, Northwest Community Hospital
Stay tuned for future episodes in the coming weeks.
This article was published by our sister publication Contemporary Pediatrics.
References:
1. Stein R. Is COVID endemic yet? Yep, says the CDC. Here's what that means. NPR. August 9, 2024. Accessed December 4, 2024.
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/08/09/nx-s1-5060398/covid-endemic-cdc-summer-surge
2. Kriss JL, Black CL, Razzaghi H, et al. Influenza, COVID-19, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccination Coverage Among Adults — United States, Fall 2024. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2024;73:1044–1051. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7346a1
Contemporary OB/GYN Senior Editor Angie DeRosa gets insight on the current state of COVID-19 from Christina Han, MD, division director of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and member of its COVID-19 task force. Han is an active member of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and discusses the issues on behalf of SMFM.
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