Remdesivir failed as a treatment for Ebola virus, but may turn out to be the most promising therapy we have for COVID-19. Two clinical trials of remdesivir for COVID-19 have already started; results are expected to be available as early as April.
None of this will be soon enough.
On Jan. 12, Li Wenliang was hospitalized at Wuhan Central Hospital. On Feb. 1, he was confirmed to have been infected by COVID-19. By Feb. 7, Wuhan Central Hospital announced that he had died, less than two months after he first sounded the alarm about the emerging epidemic. He was 33 years old.
In my French literature class, he would have been referred to as un héro malgré soi-même—a hero despite himself. He could have never suspected that anyone outside a small group of colleagues would have seen the missive that made him famous. He likely dashed off the message as casually as I might warn a friend about inclement weather.
Tragically, he is just the first of many such ordinary heroes, who sprout like weeds among healthcare providers. Many of these ordinary heroes will never be recognized; some of them are likely reading these words right now. We are in need of all of those heroes, because the enemy is at the gates, and our patients are relying on all of us to see them through.
Philip Seo, MD, MHS, is an associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore. He is director of both the Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center and the Johns Hopkins Rheumatology Fellowship Program.
Author’s Note
I would like to thank Andrea Fava, MD, and Max König, MD, for their helpful comments on this manuscript.
ACR Resource Page: COVID-19
The ACR has created a page with regularly updated resources and brief answers to some frequently asked questions about COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes this disease: https://www.rheumatology.org/announcements
Updated 3/23/20
