Army physicians are turning to drugs approved for other conditions or newly
developed treatments such as the antiviral Remdesivir to treat infected
personnel.
Infectious disease has always been one of the military’s greatest threats.
By its own estimates, the U.S. Army lost almost as many soldiers from the 1918
flu as died on the battlefields of the first World War.
Troops are at risk during an outbreak due to the tight quarters in which
they live and work. It is therefore not surprising that all branches of the
service – Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard – have been hit hard
by COVID-19. The military has also played an important role in responding to
the virus, from evacuating State Department officials from Wuhan in January to
its current role building and staffing civilian field hospitals and augmenting
civilian research teams.
To mitigate any risk, the Department of Defense has enforced rigorous
social distancing policies and a military-wide travel ban halting nonessential
deployments.
New treatments
But in addition to measures aimed at keeping people away from sources of
infection, the military is also treating active duty personnel who become
infected. Because the COVID-19 virus is new, there are as yet no FDA approved
treatments. As a result, military physicians are turning to either treatments
approved for other conditions or seeking access to newly developed treatments,
such as the antiviral Remdesivir, which to date has received FDA emergency use
approval only for COVID-19 patients with severe conditions. That presents a
significant legal challenge due to existing laws protecting military personnel
by recognizing that their obligation to follow orders reduces their ability to
provide informed consent.
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