Antiviral treatment cuts covid-19 hospitalisation rate in half

Unlike previous antiviral drugs for covid-19, a treatment called pegylated interferon lambda can be used against the Omicron strain of coronavirus or help people who have been vaccinated

To Claire Wilson

A new antiviral drug for covid-19, given as an injection within a week after symptoms appear, halves the number of people needing hospital treatment, a large trial has found.

The drug appears to be effective not only in those who have been vaccinated, but also in those who have caught the Omicron variant, as well as those who have previously had a variant of the virus, so the results is promising.

A compound called pegylated interferon lambda, this treatment was tested in a randomized trial involving about 2,000 people living in the United States.