COVID-19 drug trials have struggled to recruit volunteers throughout pandemic

Coronavirus ICU.
(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

COVID-19 vaccines have been developed at a rapid pace that has largely exceeded expectations, and while there are varying levels of success, several appear to be quite effective. The United States government poured a lot of money into the research, which helped push the development finish line up, but the heavy focus on vaccines did leave coronavirus therapeutics behind, The New York Times reports.

A few drug treatments have helped doctors improve the care of COVID-19 patients, but several ideas that looked like they were gaining steam petered out. One of the key factors was a lack of centralized coordination, the Times suggests. Hospitals and researchers have often been left on their own to conduct trials and many have subsequently struggled to find volunteers who were not already hospitalized.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.