The fact is that there is a major and serious downside from a public health point of view. The availability of pills to treat Covid could discourage vaccine resisters and hesitators from getting vaccinated. Unvaccinated people might now think, “If I come down with Covid, I’ll just get a prescription, take pills for a few days and I’ll be out of the woods!”

What a disaster if such attitudes slow global vaccination efforts, the only effective strategy able to really tamp down the pandemic. Without ubiquitous availability, distribution and acceptance of effective vaccines, the virus festers in undervaccinated communities. These places serve as breeding grounds for new mutations like omicron and whatever else is on the horizon…

Yes, a safe and effective pill would save lives, but it wouldn’t be able to actually shut down the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. And it’s also worth keeping in mind that if the Covid diagnosis isn’t made within the first few days of symptoms, there’s the question of whether the new pills will even work. Are timely diagnoses even possible everywhere in the world?