The Covid-19 pandemic will end with public health tools, not clinical ones (BMJ, 24 June 2022)

Summary

As a clinician, Abraar Karan rarely sees a patient die from Covid-19 anymore. Those who end up in the hospital these days have benefited from the immense advances in clinical science that have brought us vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and antivirals, and taught us how best to use these and other existing medications, such as steroids, to save patients’ lives. Collectively, this is an enormous accomplishment. It’s not, however, the end of the pandemic. The end of covid-19 will not be a clinical feat, but a public health one. We need public health innovation from our governments, writes Abraar in this BMJ opinion article.