Don't forget the time pressure. It's a real balance act. The ideal panacea would be an already approved drug that is easy to manufacture, scale and distribute.

Don't forget the time pressure. It's a real balance act. The ideal panacea would be an already approved drug that is easy to manufacture, scale and distribute. If fighting covid means we need new drugs then we look at a long development time that will likely stretch the availability of a therapeutic behind the availability of a vaccine. Obviously everyone knows that these things are needed NOW, all bureaucratic road blocks are removed save the really important and necessary ones. You cannot just hand out a drug to millions of people or inject them with vaccines without thoroughly testing their safety first. Imagine if the "cure" to covid was long term harmful in a broad population, e.g. it affects 5% of the people negatively. The health, societal and economic impact could wipe the floor with covid.