From the outset of the pandemic, Republicans have seized on anecdotal claims of COVID-killing drugs to either downplay the disease itself or as an excuse to refuse vaccines. Donald Trump was at the front of the line in pushing anti-malaria treatment hydroxychloroquine as a “miracle cure” for COVID-19. As the delta wave took hold, Trump supporters turned to the anti-parasitic ivermectin as their new wonder drug. That’s despite the fact that repeated trials have determined that these treatments are ineffective. Hydroxychloroquine was punted from WHO’s trials after repeated failures to show results. Ivermectin is still involved in some ongoing trials, but it’s not looking good. However, there are some genuine treatments that are effective in treating COVID-19, one of which has been widely used and pushed by both Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as an excuse to not take the vaccine: monoclonal antibodies. This treatment is available from at least two sources: Regenron, which uses a “cocktail” of two antibodies called casirivimab and imdevimab; and Eli Lilly, which offers bamlanivimab. Both treatments are available under emergency use authorizations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and both of them have been found to reduce the risk of death by about 70% for patients who take a course of treatment soon after testing positive for COVID-19. However, the cost of these treatment is high, ranging from $1,600 to $2,100 for a course of treatment. More recently, two new antiviral treatments have completed phase 2/3 testing and are in the process of being made available to the public. These are ritonavir from Pfizer and molnupiravir from Merck. Molnupiravir, which reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 50%, has now gained approval for its first rollout in Europe. Phase 3 results indicated that ritonavir reduced deaths by 89%. A course of treatment for either drug is expected to cost around $700, but since they are oral treatments that—unlike monoclonal antibodies—don’t require IV administration by a medical professional, they’ll be much cheaper and easier to roll out. However, there’s another alternative—one that’s already been approved by the FDA, is already in wide use, costs $4 for a course of treatment, and may be better at preventing COVID-19 deaths than all of the above. That alternative is the antidepressant drug fluvoxamine. Read more