Effective Antivirals in Pandemic Preparedness: Past Mistakes, Future Needs
Clinical Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1093/cid/ciaf648
- PMID
- 41292002
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W4416737794
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The authors propose a coordinated antiviral platform to address therapeutic blind spots in vaccine-centric pandemic strategies, including broad-spectrum agent development, phase 2/3 trial funding, rapid manufacturing scale-up, and equitable global access through tiered pricing, stockpiling, and technology transfer.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The paper examines pandemic preparedness strategies, focusing on the allocation of resources between vaccines and antivirals and proposing a dedicated antiviral development agenda to address therapeutic gaps exposed during COVID-19.
Study design
This is a perspective or commentary article published in a peer-reviewed journal that reviews past pandemic response patterns and proposes a policy framework for future antiviral development and deployment.
Population and setting
The article discusses pandemic preparedness broadly, with specific attention to high-risk populations and settings with delayed vaccine uptake, drawing lessons from the COVID-19 response.
Main findings
During COVID-19, research funding and regulatory approvals disproportionately favored vaccines over antivirals, and early antiviral effectiveness evidence was often limited or misleading. Antivirals may offer advantages in early outbreak control, for high-risk groups, and where vaccine uptake is delayed.
Public-health relevance
The authors propose a coordinated antiviral platform to address therapeutic blind spots in vaccine-centric pandemic strategies, including broad-spectrum agent development, phase 2/3 trial funding, rapid manufacturing scale-up, and equitable global access through tiered pricing, stockpiling, and technology transfer.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata and requires the original paper for decision-grade interpretation of the proposed policy framework, supporting evidence, and specific recommendations.
GIDS interpretation
This article is discoverable through COVID-19 and treatment-related classifiers. It offers a policy perspective on pandemic preparedness rather than outbreak-specific surveillance data, and should be contextualized within broader literature on therapeutic interventions and resource allocation during health emergencies.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 11 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.