Machine learning is currently being utilized to search for existing drugs which may help treat COVID-19. One company, BenevolentAI, has identified a drug which could treat the most serious effect of the disease: the cytokine storm which damages the lungs. This drug is currently used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, but the AI has identified that it could calm the effects of the cytokine storm. While this is great news, the drug still has to go through clinical trials in patients with coronavirus in order to make sure there are not any unexpected consequences of repurposing this drug. For example, some fear the known side effect of decreased viral resistance may have disastrous consequences in COVID-19 patients. But, those side effects are seen in long term users of the drug, so it is hard to say what will happen.
Other companies are also working towards identifying drugs which can be repurposed fast to help those in need. We're all in this together, and it is comforting to see everyone pooling their resources to find a solution for a global issue of this degree.
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