promising new treatments?

As the Omicron wave hits France, several treatments will make their arrival in France. This is particularly the case of Paxlovid which will be available from the end of the week according to journalist Marina Carrère d’Encausse. “VSis an antiviral that blocks the multiplication of the virus. It’s very simple: you take two tablets a day for five days at home”, she explains. It would reduce by “89% hospitalizations and mortality in people at risk, but it must be taken as soon as the diagnosis is made and at most within five days of the onset of symptoms.

Sotrovimab should also be authorized in France. “It is a monoclonal antibody. These are antibodies that are selected to very specifically target an aggressive agent, there Sars-CoV-2. It’s been used for months, especially in immunocompromised people. It worked well but here, the Omicron variant is so different, it is no longer effective on this variant, whereas this GSK drug is a priori effective on different variants. Also, it reduces mortality.“, she underlines. Marina Carrère d’Encausse recalls that these two drugs, like the others being tested, “do not replace the vaccine“.