Currently, Italy is the country most seriously affected inthe world by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Asof 30 March 2020, our Government certified that 31% ofthe worldwide deaths were from Italy (11,591 out of 36,500cases) with the highest mortality rate (11.4%) compared theglobal rate of 4.7%. Over the last weeks, several Italian hospitalsadhered to international experimental investigationson off-label drugs, such as tocilizumab, an anti-IL-6 receptormonoclonal antibody and remdesivir, a nucleotide analogoriginally used against Ebola virus disease, and artificial activeimmunization (vaccines creation). To our great surprise, inour country, minimal medical and community attention hasbeen riveted on passive immunity (immunoglobulin therapy).In fact, while all bureaucratic efforts so far made in Italyfailed to get unanimous consensus and realization, the ChineseNational Clinical Research Center for Child Health andDisorders (set in Chongqing) and the Johns Hopkins School ofPublic Health from Baltimore, USA, both consider the passiveantibody therapy a valid option for prevention and treatmentof COVID-19 and recommend that institutions “begin preparationsas soon as possible. Time is of essence”.1,2 Considering thelong time for an effective vaccine and the important costsof biologic drugs, antibody administration could representan emergency, safe, less expensive, temporary but life-savingsolution to be added to the continuous restrictive movementmeasures to combat coronavirus. Cultural limitations can alsoimpact the way for the cure. In the last years, paralleling thedevelopment of social networks and globalization, Italy hasmet with a profound regression characterized by a growinganti-vaccine community, lack of faith in science and misconceptionsabout illnesses. Such blameworthy behaviors led to a violent resurgence of measles in 2017 impelling the Parliamentto promulgate coercive and defensive laws for social health.
展开▼
