Preventing a life-threatening COVID infection

If you have antibodies against COVID induced by the vaccine or from an actual infection, do not assume you are bulletproof. The virus continues to mutate and the variants of COVID give it increased resistance to antibodies. Deadly breakthrough infections can and do occur. To safeguard your health, you and your doctor may wish to be aware of what the scientific literature suggests may be helpful in preventing a COVID infection from escalating to a life-threatening infection. The following compounds have been studied and look promising according to researchers:

• Resveratrol & copper: Mittra I, et al. Resveratrol and Copper for treatment of severe COVID-19: an observational study (RESCU 002) medRxiv. 2020;6:1–13.

• Cannabidiol: Nguyen LC, Yang D, Nicolaescu V, et al. Cannabidiol Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Replication and Promotes the Host Innate Immune Response. Preprint. bioRxiv. 2021;2021.03.10.432967.

• Fluvoxamine: G. Reis et al. Effect of early treatment with fluvoxamine on risk of emergency care and hospitalization among patients with COVID-19: the TOGETHER randomized, platform clinical trial. The Lancet Global Health. Published online October 27, 2021.

• Saffron: Husaini AM, Jan KN, Wani GA. Saffron: A potential drug-supplement for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (COVID) management. Heliyon. 2021 May;7(5):e7068.

• Nattokinase: Oba M, Rongduo W, Saito A, Okabayashi T, Yokota T, Yasuoka J, Sato Y, Nishifuji K, Wake H, Nibu Y, Mizutani T. Natto extract, a Japanese fermented soybean food, directly inhibits viral infections including SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2021 Sep 17;570:21-25.

• Licorice extract: van de Sand L, Bormann M, Alt M, et al. Glycyrrhizin Effectively Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Replication by Inhibiting the Viral Main Protease. Viruses. 2021;13(4):609.

• Zinc and hinokitiol: Hoang BX, Han B. A possible application of hinokitiol as a natural zinc ionophore and anti-infective agent for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and viral infections. Med Hypotheses. 2020 Dec;145:110333. 

• Bromelain and curcumin: Kritis P, Karampela I, Kokoris S, Dalamaga M. The combination of bromelain and curcumin as an immune-boosting nutraceutical in the prevention of severe COVID-19. Metabol Open. 2020 Dec;8:100066.

• Carbon dioxide: El-Betany AMM, Behiry EM, Gumbleton M, Harding KG. Humidified Warmed CO₂ Treatment Therapy Strategies Can Save Lives With Mitigation and Suppression of SARS-CoV-2 Infection: An Evidence Review. Front Med (Lausanne). 2020;7:594295.

• 2-deoxy-D-glucose: Ardestani A, Azizi Z. Targeting glucose metabolism for treatment of COVID-19. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2021 Mar 6;6(1):112.

• Artemisinin: Uckun FM, Saund S, Windlass H, Trieu V. Repurposing Anti-Malaria Phytomedicine Artemisinin as a COVID-19 Drug. Front Pharmacol. 2021;12:649532.

• Molecular hydrogen: Alwazeer D, Liu FF, Wu XY, LeBaron TW. Combating Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in COVID-19 by Molecular Hydrogen Therapy: Mechanisms and Perspectives. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2021 Oct 4;2021:5513868.

• Fenofibrate: Davies SP, Mycroft-West CJ, Pagani I, Hill HJ, Chen Y-H, Karlsson R, Bagdonaite I, Guimond SE, Stamataki Z, De Lima MA, Turnbull JE, Yang Z, Vicenzi E, Skidmore MA, Khanim FL and Richardson A (2021) The Hyperlipidaemic Drug Fenofibrate Significantly Reduces Infection by SARS-CoV-2 in Cell Culture Models. Front. Pharmacol. 12:660490.

• Serrapeptase: Sharma C, Jha NK, Meeran MFN, Patil CR, Goyal SN, Ojha S. Serratiopeptidase, A Serine Protease Anti-Inflammatory, Fibrinolytic, and Mucolytic Drug, Can Be a Useful Adjuvant for Management in COVID-19. Front Pharmacol. 2021;12:603997.

Comments from Dr. Thomas: Please note that this information is for educational purposes only. It is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, and monitor­ing by your personal physician. Therefore, I cannot comment as to appropriateness in your situation, nor give dosages or treatment guidelines. That is for your personal physician to determine after carefully studying the references above.

Updated August 2, 2023