Fluvoxamine, an antidepressant, appears to be a promising drug to prevent COVID-19 patients from developing serious symptoms and requiring hospitalization, suggests a nonrandomized study conducted among California racetrack workers.

Two-hundred employees at Golden Gate Fields Racetrack in Berkeley, CA, had tested positive for COVID-19 in November, 2020. Fluvoxamine was offered to 113 of them. Of these, 65 workers took a 2-week course of the drug and did not require hospitalization, did not develop serious symptoms, and felt better after 2 weeks. However, 6 of the 48 workers who did not take fluvoxamine had to be hospitalized; two required intensive care, and one died, reported the study. The findings have been published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases… (Medscape)