Two new studies each suggest that dozens of drugs already approved for use in the United States may prove effective against the new coronavirus.

“Repurposing these FDA-approved drugs could be a fast way to get treatment to patients who otherwise have no option,” explained the co-author of one of the studies, Dr Hesham Sadek. He’s professor in the departments of internal medicine, molecular biology and biophysics at UT Southwestern Medical Center, in Houston.

However, experts stressed that this research is still in its early stages, so people shouldn’t try any of the drugs now to prevent or treat Covid-19.

Right now, “there is no specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat the new coronavirus,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “Some specific treatments are under investigation, and will be tested through clinical trials,” the WHO said, according to the Washington Post.

It could take months

As Covid-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, sickens hundreds of thousands worldwide, the race is on to find a drug that might help save severely ill patients.

But even with rapid government approval, it could take months to develop new drugs from scratch that might be effective against the virus, Sadek explained in a UT Southwestern news release.

That led his team to conduct computer modelling studies on certain drugs already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, to assess their potential in combating the coronavirus.

The results showed that the most promising drugs include several antiviral drugs – including Darunavir, Nelfinavir, and Saquinavir – and several other types of drugs, including the ACE inhibitor Moexipril; the chemotherapy drugs Daunorubicin and Mitoxantrone; the painkiller Metamizole; the antihistamine Bepotastine; and the antimalarial drug Atovaquone.

Another promising candidate is the cholesterol-lowering statin rosuvastatin, which is sold under the brand name Crestor. It’s already taken by millions of patients around the world to lower their cholesterol, is safe, inexpensive and readily available, Sadek noted.

The results were published on a pre-print server called ChemRxiv; they have not yet been subject to peer review.

Findings submitted to journal

Also, because this study was completely computer-based, their effectiveness against the new coronavirus remains theoretical. Only further research could confirm their effectiveness prior to use in actual patients, the Houston researchers stressed.

A second study was led by biologist Nevan Krogan of the University of California, San Francisco. It found that nearly 70 drugs – some already approved, some still experimental – might prove effective against the novel coronavirus.

Krogan’s group has so far only published their findings on the website bioRxiv, and the findings have been submitted to a medical journal, The New York Times reported.

In this effort, the researchers took a deep dive into the genetic makeup of the novel coronavirus, focusing on key proteins the virus uses to hijack the genetic machinery of a host human cell. The coronavirus uses the cell’s protein to then manufacture millions of copies of itself.

Krogan’s team searched for drugs that target the same human cellular proteins that the virus also targets during its invasion of the host cell. They uncovered 24 drugs already approved by the FDA for use against a wide range of diseases, such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease and high blood pressure.

Also on the list were certain antibiotics; metformin, the go-to drug for type 2 diabetes; the schizophrenia drug haloperidol; and the malaria drug chloroquine.

Well-run trials essential

The latter drug gained prominence after President Donald Trump suggested at a recent news briefing that it might work against Covid-19. But Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, quickly qualified that statement, saying there was only “anecdotal evidence” that chloroquine might work against the new coronavirus.

He stressed that only well-run trials could prove effectiveness; such trials are being planned by the WHO and the state of New York, the Times noted.

And there’s a potentially lethal downside to trying any of the aforementioned drugs on your own, experts warned.

That danger was illustrated in a tragedy occurring just this week. According to the Washington Post, one Arizona couple in their 60s took matters into their own hands after watching Trump’s news briefing. Buoyed by his words on chloroquine, the couple self-treated with the drug – which they had previously used to clean their koi pond.

After mixing the chemical with soda and drinking it, they each felt dizzy and started vomiting. The husband died at the hospital, and the wife is still under critical care in the hospital, the Post reported.

A number of ongoing efforts

So, don’t “self-medicate” with any of these drugs until better research is done. Krogan’s collaborators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and the Pasteur Institute in Paris have already begun testing the mettle of 22 compounds on their list against the coronavirus, under laboratory conditions, the Times said.

The new coronavirus first appeared in China in late 2019. As of 23 March, there had been nearly 335 000 cases of Covid-19 and nearly 14 700 deaths worldwide, according to the WHO.

There are a number of ongoing efforts to develop effective treatments and vaccines, but no clear treatment or prevention strategies currently exist.

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If you and the kids are staying home to avoid the coronavirus, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) offers this advice to help you make the best of the situation.

Make a plan. Talk to your children about daily structure, dealing with stress, and when you’ll take breaks from remote work and schoolwork.

Ask teachers about online and offline educational activities for your kids. School districts may be able to help connect low-income families to free Wi-Fi or devices.

Use social media to check in with neighbours, friends and loved ones. If your kids miss their school friends or relatives, try video chats or social media to stay in touch.

Expect to make adjustments

Decide how much time kids can play video games online with friends, and where their devices will charge at night. Challenge your children to practice “tech self-control” and turn off the TV, tablet or video game themselves, rather than having you remind them.

If you work from home, expect to make adjustments. But it’s also an opportunity. Encouraging imaginative “work” play, for instance, could be a way to have a “take your child to work day” at home.

Podcasts and audiobooks can keep your children’s minds engaged while you work or do other tasks.

Do offline activities that help your family relax and communicate. Take walks outside, play board games, read together, have family dance parties and do activities that spark your children’s interest.

Share your worries

Get ideas from other families and share your ideas with them.

Create opportunities for family members to share their worries, and monitor your own technology use. If you focus too much on the news or social media and stress out, your kids will notice. Take a break to protect your mental health.

Be sure that everyone gets the sleep, physical activity, reading, reflective downtime and family connection time they need.

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Most of the queries, from people flagging potential symptoms, were handled online.

A drug that could treat patients with coronavirus is to undergo clinical trials at 15 NHS centres.

As hospitals give more and more coronavirus patients albuterol to help them breathe, people with asthma may have a hard time getting an inhaler.

The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) said some areas of the United States are experiencing shortages of albuterol inhalers, and the shortage may spread.

But Dr Michael Blaiss, executive medical director of the ACAAI, emphasised that it is “nothing to panic about”.

Manufacturers are trying to keep up with the unexpected surge in demand, he said. Production issues are not to blame.

Nebulisers might aerosolise virus particles

“No one should panic or hoard albuterol, though since you need a prescription, it’s not possible to hoard like toilet paper. But don’t put your albuterol asthma inhalers on autofill. If your asthma is under optimal control, an inhaler should last you more than a year,” Blaiss said.

And, if you can’t get an albuterol inhaler from your pharmacy, Blaiss said it’s important to know there are other options.

Patients with Covid-19 infections were initially treated with nebulisers, a common way to treat breathing problems in hospitals, and sometimes at home. But recent research suggested that when aerosolised, the coronavirus could hang in the air for a while, and some nebulisers might aerosolise the virus particles, Blaiss explained.

So, out of caution, many hospitals have switched to the use of albuterol inhalers. Albuterol is a medication that helps open up the airways. It is considered a “rescue” medication. There are also preventive medications, including different types of inhalers for asthma.

The big difference between a nebuliser and an inhaler is the dose received. Typically, someone given an inhaler is advised to take two puffs during an asthma symptom flare. “A nebuliser treatment is equivalent to about 10 puffs of an inhaler,” Blaiss said.

If you try to refill a prescription for an albuterol inhaler and can’t, Blaiss recommended contacting your physician. Meanwhile, keep taking your preventive asthma medications.

Use nebuliser outside

“You really want to make sure your asthma is under optimal control, making sure your lungs are functioning as well as possible,” he said.

Keeping your lungs as healthy as possible is critical right now, because people with asthma and other lung diseases are more likely to develop complications from a Covid-19 infection, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a pinch, it’s usually OK to use an expired inhaler, Blaiss said. But doctors don’t know how far out from the expiration date an inhaler might work.

People also can use home nebulisers, and albuterol solution is available to use at home.

If you have been exposed to someone with Covid-19 or have any symptoms of infection – fever, cough, non-asthma-related shortness of breath – use your nebuliser in an isolated area, preferably outside, Blaiss recommended. If you must use it indoors, be sure no one else will be in that area for several hours at the least.

Shortage only temporary

There are also inhalers that contain long-acting rescue medication that can ease wheezing and breathing difficulties.

Blaiss said anyone using an inhaler – rescue or preventive – should watch the counter on the device to be sure there is active medication in the canister.

Because the situation is still unfolding, Blaiss said he didn’t know how long any shortage might last.

Dr Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said people may simply be filling their prescriptions more regularly to ensure they have a supply in place.

“Since albuterol is a rescue medicine, not necessarily a daily maintenance medicine, the shortage of supply will hopefully be temporary,” Horovitz said.

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The advice comes as the government faces growing criticism over a lack of testing for frontline staff.

However, experts say a fever and a cough are still the main ones to look out for.

Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab is thought to be the youngest person to have died with the virus in the UK.

Being in isolation without access to gyms and sports clubs should not mean people stop exercising, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Bath. Keeping up regular, daily exercise at a time when much of the world is going into isolation will play an important role in helping to maintain a healthy immune system.