David Wohl, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, was interviewed by WRAL News discussing a new coronavirus vaccine and treatment studies.
“We hear so much bad news about the coronavirus, but there are some glimmers of hope,” said Wohl. “We all know we need a vaccine and we also need a treatment because not everyone is going to get vaccinated, and not everyone is going to find the vaccine to be 100% effective. So when people get sick, like they do with the flu, it’s nice to have a medicine.”
Wohl explained people who want to volunteer for the vaccine study can sign up at coronaviruspreventionnetwork.org. In the news story, he introduced Operation Warp Speed, a treatment study funded by the NIH for people who are not severely ill, which is reviewing different treatments that can help people stay out of the hospital and feel better. And he announced a clinical study that is evaluating the ability of various study medications to improve the symptoms of COVID-19.
“If a new medication comes out two months from now, it goes in the study. If one looks good, we expand it. If one doesn’t look as good, we will pull it. This is the kind of study we need to push us forward, to help people who are not severely ill, to keep them out of the hospital, like we have for flu.”
Find the WRAL News story here.