부산대학교 도서관

While the majority of COVID-19 cases in South Africa (SA) are mild, patients with severe COVID-19 requiring hospitalisation present with significant morbidity and mortality and place a substantial burden on healthcare services. Given the low vaccine uptake in SA and other low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the high prevalence of comorbidities and limited healthcare system capacity, evidence-based interventions that reduce the risk of severe disease and death should be considered for implementation. Several antiviral classes have been newly developed or repurposed to treat COVID-19 early after infection to retard progression to severe disease and reduce the risk of death, particularly in the elderly and/or in patients with comorbidities. COVID-19 antivirals such as remdesivir, nirmatrelvir/ ritonavir and molnupiravir are safe and cost-effective and have received either full approval or emergency use authorisation from regulators. Using a proposed test-and-treat strategy, judicious use of antivirals could be impactful. S Afr Med J 2023;113(12):e1066. https://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2023.v113i12.1066
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in excessive loss of human life and destabilised healthcare systems, economies and social structures globally. Up to March 2023, over 680 million cases of COVID-19 had [...]