3 ms·

But doesn't it still rely on a person getting early symptoms of COVID-19 seeking medical aid? I can't really imagine someone developing a cough and then immedia

• sudosysgen 5y ago
  It doesn't have to a prescription, they could distribute them after a telehealth meeting, or on the same basis as vaccines, or at any pharmacy after a talk with the pharmacian, etc...
• rsynnott 5y ago
  ... Wait, can you not? That's basically how tamiflu works. And one relic of the pandemic will be that at-home covid testing will be cheap, easy and available in a way that at-home flu testing is not (antigen tests are already cheap and easily available in Europe, and soon will be worldwide). Now, I can imagine that not _all_ cases will be given the antiviral automatically. If you're a vaccinated 18 year old with no comorbidities, say, that is probably not going to be cost-effective (though, well, we'll see what happens with long covid); the chances of you landing in hospital are just very low. But if you're an overweight unvaccinated 60 year old, there's quite a good chance of you turning into a hideously expensive ICU case, and it probably makes sense to provide the treatment.