COVID-19 –– the Prospects

Rachel Maddow’s interview with Dr. David Ho last evening was illuminating. Dr. Ho was instrumental in developing anti-viral drugs that subdued the AIDs virus. He and his team are working on developing a similarly effective drug to subdue COVID-19. Dr. Ho was optimistic that this can be accomplished, but it will probably take at least a year before any such drug can be widely available, and availability of an effective vaccine appears to be at least a year-and-a-half away. In the meantime, drastic measures must be taken to slow the rate of new infections. The experience of China and South Korea demonstrate that aggressive interventions can succeed. At best, tough times lie ahead.