Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) oral antivirals stewardship: Establishing game rules

To the Editor—Vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are the cornerstone of preventive strategies during this pandemic.1 However, COVID-19 vaccine immunity wanes over time,2 while specific population groups, such as the immunocompromised, may not be able to mount an adequate immune res...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Infection control and hospital epidemiology 2022-12, Vol.43 (12), p.1990-1992
Main Authors: Mazonakis, Nikolaos, Tsioutis, Constantinos, Markaki, Ioulia, Papadakis, Michail, Papadakos, Stavros, Spernovasilis, Nikolaos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antimicrobial Stewardship
Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use
Antiviral drugs
Communication
Computerized physician order entry
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 vaccines
Disease transmission
Drug interactions
Feedback
Humans
Immune response
Letter to the Editor
Pandemics
Patients
Ritonavir
SARS-CoV-2
Vaccines
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Summary:To the Editor—Vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are the cornerstone of preventive strategies during this pandemic.1 However, COVID-19 vaccine immunity wanes over time,2 while specific population groups, such as the immunocompromised, may not be able to mount an adequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination.3 In addition, new variants with spike-protein mutations continue to emerge, raising concerns about immune escape and breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals.4 Recently, based on the results of relevant clinical trials, an emergency use authorization was granted by the FDA for 2 new oral antivirals against COVID-19: molnupiravir by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Pfizer’s nirmatrelvir-ritonavir. [...]the urgent need for effective outpatient treatment amid ongoing transmission entails the risk of irrational use of these antivirals. [...]far, data regarding the potential to induce resistance in case of inappropriate use are lacking. [...]health services around the world are overwhelmed by the ongoing pandemic, and new oral antiviral medications represent an important addition in our limited armamentarium against COVID-19.
ISSN:0899-823X
1559-6834
DOI:10.1017/ice.2022.25