Treating SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection by molnupiravir for pandemic mitigation and living with the virus: a mathematical modeling study

Abstract

Treating severe COVID-19 patients and controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2 are concurrently important in mitigating the pandemic. Classically, antiviral drugs are primarily developed for treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients with severe diseases to reduce morbidity and/or mortality, which have limited effects on limiting pandemic spread. In this study, we simulated the expanded applications of oral antiviral drugs such as molnupiravir to mitigate the pandemic by treating nonhospitalized COVID-19 cases. We developed a compartmental mathematical model to simulate the effects of molnupiravir treatment assuming various scenarios in the Omicron variant dominated settings in Denmark, the United Kingdom and Germany. We found that treating nonhospitalized cases can limit Omicron spread. This indirectly reduces the burden of hospitalization and patient death. The effectiveness of this approach depends on the intrinsic nature of the antiviral drug and the strategies of implementation. Hypothetically, if resuming pre-pandemic social contact pattern, extensive application of molnupiravir treatment would dramatically (but not completely) mitigate the COVID-19 burden, and thus there remains lifetime cost of living with the virus.

Scaling the Process Chemistry of a COVID-19 Antiviral Pharmaceutical Down for a Multistep Synthesis Experiment in the Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory

“…The pandemic has been a cauldron of opportunity to bring cutting-edge science into the classroom and teaching laboratory, and the college student population over the next decade will be people whose education and personal lives have been highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic . Incorporating primary literature on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been one way for students to engage with typical course material in ways that are relevant to them. − The relative risks and benefits of prescribing molnupiravir to various populations continues to be explored by clinicians and scientists alike in the literature, − giving students an opportunity to think more broadly about ethical considerations in developing treatments plans for patients with COVID-19. Utilizing SARS-CoV-2 literature in course material can have the added benefit of promoting and practicing science literacy, an issue that has been at the forefront of societal discussions as we have rapidly adapted our public health practices in response to the pandemic as well as grappled with other science-related issues with widespread impacts such as climate change. , …”

Scaling the Process Chemistry of a COVID-19 Antiviral Pharmaceutical Down for a Multi-Step Synthesis Experiment in the Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory

“…8 Incorporating primary literature on the SARS-COV2 pandemic has been one way for students to engage with typical course material in ways that are relevant to them. [9][10][11] The relative risks and benefits of prescribing molnupiravir to various populations continues to be explored by clinicians and scientists alike in the literature, [12][13][14][15] giving students an opportunity to think more broadly about ethical considerations in developing treatments plans for patients with COVID-19. Utilizing SARS-COV2 literature in course material can have the added benefit of promoting and practicing science literacy, 9 an issue that has been at the forefront of societal discussions as we have rapidly adapted our public health practices in response to the pandemic as well as grappled with other science-related issues with widespread impacts such as climate change.…”