The US is gripped by coronavirus right now, but it seems Dr. Anthony Fauci is confident a new breakthrough COVID-19 medicine could smash the pandemic in its tracks.
Dr. Fauci said that monoclonal antibody drugs which are capable of neutralizing and providing temporary immunity against infections, could be ready by the fall -- just months away.
Better yet, Dr. Fauci is confident that this type of drug technology could be used in other infectious diseases, so we're looking at vaccine-style protection -- although, it wouldn't provide the long-lasting immunity like vaccines provide.
The new remarks from Dr. Fauci came during an interview with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
As for what a "monoclonal antibody" -- it is a laboratory-produced protein that can be used to treat sick patients, as well as for prophylaxis. Dr. Fauci explained them in an easier way, describing them as "precise bullets" that can be developed from the antibodies of previously infected people, then used as treatment to fight COVID-19.
Dr. Fauci continued: "What we really need are drugs that, when given early, can prevent a symptomatic person from requiring hospitalization or very dramatically diminish the time that they're symptomatic".
The top US infectious disease expert, who is the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease added that the United States needs to "regroup" and "call a time out" as COVID-19 cases continue to explode across the US.