Yes, treatments definitely ameliorate risks from not finding vaccines—but it seems that effective new treatments were far harder to find than vaccines.
And yes, clearly symptomatic treatment with extant drugs is important—dexamethasone, but also prone positioning, and basic parts of treatment like pulse oximetry and ensuring sufficient fluids. But these don’t need 100-day crash research programs for new treatments, which is what was proposed, they need RECOVERY-like trials (perhaps more expansive, covering more parts of clinical care,) to start on day 1, instead of waiting months to start.
Yes, treatments definitely ameliorate risks from not finding vaccines—but it seems that effective new treatments were far harder to find than vaccines.
And yes, clearly symptomatic treatment with extant drugs is important—dexamethasone, but also prone positioning, and basic parts of treatment like pulse oximetry and ensuring sufficient fluids. But these don’t need 100-day crash research programs for new treatments, which is what was proposed, they need RECOVERY-like trials (perhaps more expansive, covering more parts of clinical care,) to start on day 1, instead of waiting months to start.