COVID-19 treatment: real-time analysis of 6,196 studies
COVID-19 involves the interplay of 300+ viral and host proteins and factors, providing many therapeutic targets.
c19early analyzes 6,100+ studies for 180 treatments—over 17 million hours of research.
US authorities recommend only three high-profit early treatments.
In reality, many treatments reduce risk,
with 25 low-cost treatments approved across 163 countries.
0.5% of 10,000+ proposed treatments show reduced risk.
Treatment to the primary source of initial infection reduces progression and transmission.
Exercise, sunlight, a healthy diet, and good sleep all reduce risk.
Vitamins A, C, D, and zinc show reduced risk, as with other viruses.
Methods for increasing internal body temperature, comparable to natural fever, enhancing immune system function.
Many systemic agents reduce risk, and may be required when infection progresses beyond the upper respiratory tract.
High-profit systemic agents are also effective, but have greater access and cost barriers.
Highly effective but rarely used—variant dependence, high cost, IV/SC administration.
Increased risk of severe outcomes and mortality.
Studies show increased mortality with longer followup.
c19early.org
We do not provide medical advice. No treatment is 100% effective, and all may have side effects. Protocols combine multiple treatments. Consult a qualified physician for personalized risk/benefit analysis.
Timeline for when studies showed efficacy - details and limitations.
0.5% of treatments show efficacy.
Top journals that accept positive studies for low cost treatments:
Nutrients,
Scientific Reports,
PLOS ONE,
International Journal of Infectious Diseases,
Frontiers in Medicine,
Cureus,
more...
Treatment cost times median NNT - details and limitations.
0.5% of treatments show efficacy.
All clinical results for selected treatments. 0.5% of treatments show efficacy.
| Random effects meta-analysis of all studies (pooled effects, all stages). Treatments with ≤3 studies with distinct authors or with <50 control events are shown in grey. Pooled results across all stages and outcomes depend on the distribution of stages and outcomes tested - for example late stage treatment may be less effective and if the majority of studies are late stage this may obscure the efficacy of early treatment. Please see the specific stage and outcome analyses. Protocols typically combine multiple treatments which may be complementary and synergistic, and the SOC in studies often includes other treatments. 0.5% of proposed treatments show efficacy in clinical studies. | |||||
| Random effects meta-analysis of early treatment studies (pooled effects). Treatments with ≤3 studies with distinct authors or with <50 control events are shown in grey. Pooled results across all outcomes are affected by the distribution of outcomes tested, please see detail pages for specific outcome analysis. Protocols typically combine multiple treatments which may be complementary and synergistic, and the SOC in studies often includes other treatments. 0.5% of proposed treatments show efficacy in clinical studies. | |||||
| Random effects meta-analysis of all mortality results (all stages). Treatments with ≤3 studies with distinct authors or with <25 control events are shown in grey. Pooled results across all stages depend on the distribution of stages tested - for example late stage treatment may be less effective and if the majority of studies are late stage this may obscure the efficacy of early treatment. Please see the specific stage analyses. Protocols typically combine multiple treatments which may be complementary and synergistic, and the SOC in studies often includes other treatments. 0.5% of proposed treatments show efficacy in clinical studies. | |||||
| Random effects meta-analysis of early treatment mortality results. Treatments with ≤3 studies with distinct authors or with <25 control events are shown in grey. Protocols typically combine multiple treatments which may be complementary and synergistic, and the SOC in studies often includes other treatments. 0.5% of proposed treatments show efficacy in clinical studies. | |||||
| Random effects meta-analysis of prophylaxis studies (pooled effects). Treatments with ≤3 studies with distinct authors or with <50 control events are shown in grey. Pooled results across all outcomes are affected by the distribution of outcomes tested, please see detail pages for specific outcome analysis. Protocols typically combine multiple treatments which may be complementary and synergistic, and the SOC in studies often includes other treatments. 0.5% of proposed treatments show efficacy in clinical studies. | |||||
| Random effects meta-analysis of prophylaxis mortality results. Treatments with ≤3 studies with distinct authors or with <25 control events are shown in grey. Protocols typically combine multiple treatments which may be complementary and synergistic, and the SOC in studies often includes other treatments. 0.5% of proposed treatments show efficacy in clinical studies. | |||||
| Random effects meta-analysis of long covid results. Treatments with ≤3 studies with distinct authors or with <50 control events are shown in grey. Pooled results across all stages and outcomes depend on the distribution of stages and outcomes tested - for example late stage treatment may be less effective and if the majority of studies are late stage this may obscure the efficacy of early treatment. Please see the specific stage and outcome analyses. Protocols typically combine multiple treatments which may be complementary and synergistic, and the SOC in studies often includes other treatments. 0.5% of proposed treatments show efficacy in clinical studies. | |||||
| Random effects meta-analysis of transmission results. Treatments with ≤3 studies with distinct authors or with <50 control events are shown in grey. Pooled results across all stages and outcomes depend on the distribution of stages and outcomes tested - for example late stage treatment may be less effective and if the majority of studies are late stage this may obscure the efficacy of early treatment. Please see the specific stage and outcome analyses. Protocols typically combine multiple treatments which may be complementary and synergistic, and the SOC in studies often includes other treatments. 0.5% of proposed treatments show efficacy in clinical studies. |
| LATE TREATMENT | ||||
| Physician / Team | Location | Patients | HospitalizationHosp. | MortalityDeath |
| Dr. David Uip (*) | Brazil | 2,200 | 38.6% (850) | 2.5% (54) |
| Dr. Jake Scott (**) | USA | 1,000 | 10.0% (100) | |
| Average | 38.6% | 6.2% | ||
| EARLY TREATMENT PROTOCOLS - 40 physicians/teams | ||||
| Physician / Team | Location | Patients | HospitalizationHosp. | MortalityDeath |
| Dr. Roberto Alfonso Accinelli 0/360 deaths for treatment within 3 days |
Peru | 1,265 | 0.6% (7) | |
| Dr. Mohammed Tarek Alam patients up to 84 years old |
Bangladesh | 100 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Oluwagbenga Alonge | Nigeria | 310 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Raja Bhattacharya up to 88yo, 81% comorbidities |
India | 148 | 1.4% (2) | |
| Dr. Flavio Cadegiani | Brazil | 3,450 | 0.1% (4) | 0.0% (0) |
| Dr. Alessandro Capucci | Italy | 350 | 4.6% (16) | |
| Dr. Shankara Chetty | South Africa | 8,000 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Deborah Chisholm | USA | 100 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Ryan Cole | USA | 400 | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) |
| Dr. Marco Cosentino earlier treatment results were better |
Italy | 392 | 6.4% (25) | 0.3% (1) |
| Dr. Jeff Davis | USA | 6,000 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Dhanajay | India | 500 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Bryan Tyson & Dr. George Fareed | USA | 20,000 | 0.0% (6) | 0.0% (4) |
| Dr. Raphael Furtado | Brazil | 170 | 0.6% (1) | 0.0% (0) |
| Rabbi Yehoshua Gerzi | Israel | 860 | 0.1% (1) | 0.0% (0) |
| Dr. Heather Gessling | USA | 1,500 | 0.1% (1) | |
| Dr. Ellen Guimarães | Brazil | 500 | 1.6% (8) | 0.4% (2) |
| Dr. Syed Haider | USA | 4,000 | 0.1% (5) | 0.0% (0) |
| Dr. Mark Hancock | USA | 24 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Sabine Hazan | USA | 1,000 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Mollie James | USA | 3,500 | 1.1% (40) | 0.0% (1) |
| Dr. Roberta Lacerda | Brazil | 550 | 1.5% (8) | 0.4% (2) |
| Dr. Katarina Lindley | USA | 100 | 5.0% (5) | 0.0% (0) |
| Dr. Ben Marble | USA | 150,000 | 0.0% (4) | |
| Dr. Edimilson Migowski | Brazil | 2,000 | 0.3% (7) | 0.1% (2) |
| Dr. Abdulrahman Mohana | Saudi Arabia | 2,733 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Carlos Nigro | Brazil | 5,000 | 0.9% (45) | 0.5% (23) |
| Dr. Benoit Ochs | Luxembourg | 800 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Ortore | Italy | 240 | 1.2% (3) | 0.0% (0) |
| Dr. Valerio Pascua one patient already on oxygen died |
Honduras | 415 | 6.3% (26) | 0.2% (1) |
| Dr. Sebastian Pop | Romania | 300 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Brian Proctor | USA | 869 | 2.3% (20) | 0.2% (2) |
| Dr. Anastacio Queiroz | Brazil | 700 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Didier Raoult | France | 8,315 | 2.6% (214) | 0.1% (5) |
| Dr. Karin Ried up to 99yo, 73% comorbidities |
Turkey | 237 | 0.4% (1) | |
| Dr. Roman Rozencwaig patients up to 86 years old |
Canada | 80 | 0.0% (0) | |
| Dr. Vipul Shah | India | 8,000 | 0.1% (5) | |
| Dr. Silvestre Sobrinho | Brazil | 116 | 8.6% (10) | 0.0% (0) |
| Dr. Unknown | Brazil | 957 | 1.7% (16) | 0.2% (2) |
| Dr. Vladimir Zelenko | USA | 2,200 | 0.5% (12) | 0.1% (2) |
| Average | 2.2% | 0.1% | ||
Physicians using early combined treatment protocols had much lower
hospitalization and mortality rates compared with those following guidelines focusing on
late treatment.
Results are subject to selection and ascertainment bias and accurate analysis requires
details of the patient populations and followup, however the results are consistent across
many teams, and consistent with the extensive controlled clinical evidence showing a
significant reduction in risk with many early treatments, and complementary/synergistic
benefits with combined treatments.
(*) Dr. Uip reportedly prescribed early treatment for himself, but not for
patients1.
(**) Dr. Scott reports treating hundreds of patients and losing over a hundred,
but has not provided specific numbers2.
Dr. Scott reports following (and helping create) US guidelines.
| Mohammed | 645 patients late treatment PSM: 117% longer hospitalization (p<0.0001) and 58% worse results (p=0.01) |
| Kim | Animal study showing that the anti-eVIM monoclonal antibody hzVSF-v13 provides protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in Roborovski SH101 hamsters... |
| Cheng | Retrospective disproportionality analysis of 276,631 COVID-19 adverse event reports from the WHO VigiBase database showing that remdesivir and.. |
| Kim | Animal study showing that the anti-eVIM monoclonal antibody hzVSF-v13 provides protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in Roborovski SH101 hamsters... |
| Arya | In vitro and in silico study showing structural and functional insights into SARS-CoV-2 PLpro regulation by its ubiquitin-like (Ubl) domain. The.. |
| Gao | Review of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) and its dual role in viral replication and immune evasion. Authors demonstrate that Mpro serves as a.. |
| Aloisio | Ex vivo study comparing the viral kinetics, immune response, and cellular damage of six different SARS-CoV-2 strains (B.1.2, WA1, Alpha, Beta, Delta.. |
| Akinbolade | Review of repurposed antiviral medicines for potential pandemic viruses, identifying 196 repurposed technologies from literature and 58 in active.. |
| Jitobaom | Review showing that multiple phosphatidylinositol kinase (PIK) inhibitors have broad-spectrum antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and other.. |
| Karpenko | Genetic association study of 1,228 subjects (199 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and 962 controls) examining heat shock protein (HSP) gene variants.. |
| Andronov | In vitro study showing the spatial organization of SARS-CoV-2 proteins and RNA in infected human lung cells using super-resolution microscopy... |
| Milewska | In vitro study showing variant-dependent differences in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein activation by host transmembrane serine proteases (TTSPs). Authors.. |
| Deo | RCT 313 outpatients showing that that intramuscular delivery of tixagevimab/cilgavimab is as effective as intravenous administration for viral.. |
| Focosi | Review of treatment-emergent resistance to anti-spike monoclonal antibodies in COVID-19 patients. Monotherapies like bamlanivimab and sotrovimab.. |
| Abayomi Banjo | In vitro and cross-sectional study showing that Artemisia afra and Artemisia annua extracts inhibit TNF-α levels in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients by.. |
| Roth | In vitro study showing that vitamin D-inducible antimicrobial peptide LL-37 binds to multiple SARS-CoV-2 proteins and inhibits viral entry. |
| Cheng | Retrospective disproportionality analysis of 276,631 COVID-19 adverse event reports from the WHO VigiBase database showing that remdesivir and.. |
| Maurmann | In vitro study showing that metformin suppresses inflammatory responses in human monocytes exposed to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein subunit 1. |
| Focosi | Review of treatment-emergent resistance to anti-spike monoclonal antibodies in COVID-19 patients. Monotherapies like bamlanivimab and sotrovimab.. |
| Focosi | Review of treatment-emergent resistance to anti-spike monoclonal antibodies in COVID-19 patients. Monotherapies like bamlanivimab and sotrovimab.. |
| Focosi | Review of treatment-emergent resistance to anti-spike monoclonal antibodies in COVID-19 patients. Monotherapies like bamlanivimab and sotrovimab.. |
| Focosi | Review of treatment-emergent resistance to anti-spike monoclonal antibodies in COVID-19 patients. Monotherapies like bamlanivimab and sotrovimab.. |
| Yarahmadi | Retrospective 220 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and 220 healthy controls showing that COVID-19 patients had significantly lower zinc levels, and.. |
| Zhang | 436 patient late treatment RCT: 8% improved recovery (p=0.52) and 18% improved viral clearance (p=0.0004) |
| Chau | Systematic review of 8 randomized controlled trials and 1 pre-post study examining probiotics for COVID-19 prevention and treatment in outpatients.. |
Recent studies (see the individual treatment pages for all studies):
Dec 31 |
et al., International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries, doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1747240075 | Investigating the relationship between vitamin D levels and COVID-19 severity among patients at MNGHA in Saudi Arabia |
| 51% lower hospitalization (p=0.29). Cross-sectional study of 471 COVID-19 patients in Saudi Arabia showing no significant association between vitamin D levels and COVID-19 severity in unadjusted results. | ||
Oct 2 |
et al., Clinical Chemistry, doi:10.1093/clinchem/hvaf086.312 | The Clinical Significance of Zinc to Copper Ratio in the Early Management of COVID-19 and its Association with Disease Severity and Mortality |
| Retrospective 220 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and 220 healthy controls showing that COVID-19 patients had significantly lower zinc levels, and that patients that died had significantly lower zinc levels than surviving patients. | ||
Oct 1 |
et al., Infection and Drug Resistance, doi:10.2147/IDR.S540928 | The Emergence of Escape Mutations in COVID-19 Following Anti-Spike Monoclonal Antibody Treatment: How Do We Tackle It? |
| Review of treatment-emergent resistance to anti-spike monoclonal antibodies in COVID-19 patients. Monotherapies like bamlanivimab and sotrovimab showed very high resistance rates, while combination approaches had lower risk. The rapid evo.. | ||
Sep 29 |
et al., BMC Infectious Diseases, doi:10.1186/s12879-025-11651-6 | Comparative effectiveness of antiviral treatment on household transmission of SARS-CoV-2: a retrospective cohort study using administrative data |
| Retrospective 5,398 married couples in Japan showing no significant difference in household transmission rates between molnupiravir, ensitrelvir, and paxlovid. Hospitalized patients receiving antivirals showed a trend toward lower transmi.. | ||
Sep 26 |
et al., Nutrition and Health, doi:10.1177/02601060251378200 | Effectiveness of probiotics on COVID-19 prevention and treatment against mild COVID-19 in outpatient care: A systematic review |
| Systematic review of 8 randomized controlled trials and 1 pre-post study examining probiotics for COVID-19 prevention and treatment in outpatients with mild symptoms, showing lower COVID-19 cases and improved recovery with treatment. | ||
Sep 23 |
et al., Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, doi:10.3389/fcimb.2025.1671738 | Vitamin D-inducible antimicrobial peptide LL-37 binds SARS-CoV-2 Spike and accessory proteins ORF7a and ORF8 |
| In vitro study showing that vitamin D-inducible antimicrobial peptide LL-37 binds to multiple SARS-CoV-2 proteins and inhibits viral entry. | ||
Sep 19 |
et al., MDPI AG, doi:10.20944/preprints202509.1594.v1 | Efficacy of Nasal Spray, Mouth Spray, and Mouthwash Containing Limonene, Cetylpyridinium Chloride, and Monolaurin in COVID-19 Management: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial |
| 36% improved recovery (p=0.006). RCT 120 low-risk COVID-19 patients showing improved recovery with nasal and oral formulations containing cetylpyridinium chloride, D-limonene, and monolaurin (the nasal formulation contained D-limonene and cetylpyridinium chloride, while .. | ||
Sep 18 |
et al., Medical Sciences, doi:10.3390/medsci13030199 | Association Between Vitamin D Levels and Long COVID Signs and Symptoms |
| 83% lower PASC (p=0.0007). Retrospective 170 outpatients with mild COVID-19 showing higher risk of long COVID with vitamin D deficiency. | ||
Sep 16 |
et al., Pharmaceutics, doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics17091205 | A Pilot, Randomised, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Trial of a Single Oral Dose of Ivermectin for Post-Exposure Prophylaxis of SARS-CoV-2 |
| 55% improved recovery (p=0.04) and 47% fewer cases (p=0.03). RCT 68 asymptomatic low-risk adults showing increased symptom-free days and delayed conversion to positive PCR/RAT test with up to 72 hours delayed post-exposure prophylaxis with a single ~200 µg/kg low dose of ivermectin during Omicron d.. | ||
Sep 16 |
et al., Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, doi:10.1177/27683605251379004 | Benefits of Nanocurcumin on Mortality in Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials |
| 53% lower mortality (p=0.02). Systematic review and meta-analysis of six RCTs showing significantly lower COVID-19 mortality with nanocurcumin treatment. | ||
Sep 16 |
et al., Frontiers in Nutrition, doi:10.3389/fnut.2025.1608300 | Micronutrient status and fatty acid profile of adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection—an observational study |
| Retrospective 139 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients (62 hospitalized, 77 home care) and 314 healthy controls showing alterations in fatty acid profiles but similar overall micronutrient levels compared to controls. When stratified by disease s.. | ||
Sep 12 |
et al., Journal of the Chinese Medical Association, doi:10.1097/JCMA.0000000000001294 | Association between vitamin D and COVID-19 infection and mortality in Taiwanese patients |
| 91% lower mortality (p=0.04). Retrospective 481 symptomatic adults in Taiwan showing higher mortality among COVID-19-positive patients with vitamin D deficiency. There was no crude association between vitamin D level and infection risk, however infection was analyzed .. | ||
Sep 12 |
et al., bioRxiv, doi:10.1101/2025.09.12.675877 | Immunoregulatory effect of metformin in monocytes exposed to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein subunit 1 |
| In vitro study showing that metformin suppresses inflammatory responses in human monocytes exposed to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein subunit 1. | ||
Sep 11 |
et al., Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins, doi:10.1007/s12602-025-10758-1 | Construction of Synthetic Probiotic Bacteria for In Situ Delivery of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Nanobodies |
| In vitro study showing that genetically modified Lactococcus lactis bacteria expressing anti-SARS-CoV-2 nanobodies can inhibit viral infection by blocking spike protein-ACE2 receptor interaction. | ||
Sep 11 |
et al., Infectious Diseases and Therapy, doi:10.1007/s40121-025-01225-z | Cardiovascular Safety of COVID-19 Treatments: A Disproportionality Analysis of Adverse Event Reports from the WHO VigiBase |
| Retrospective disproportionality analysis of 276,631 COVID-19 adverse event reports from the WHO VigiBase database showing that remdesivir and baricitinib were associated with 2.4-fold and 2.3-fold increased odds of cardiovascular adverse.. | ||
We aim to cover the most promising early treatments for
COVID-19. We use pre-specified effect extraction criteria that prioritizes
more serious outcomes, for details see methods. For specific
outcomes and different treatment stages see the individual pages. Not all
treatments are covered here, effectiveness has been reported for many other treatments in studies.
Of the 6,196 studies,
2,885 present results comparing with a control group,
2,660 are treatment studies, and
225 analyze outcomes based on serum levels. There are
126 animal studies,
231 in silico studies,
451 in vitro studies,
499 reviews,
and 250 meta analyses.
References
medicospelavidacovid19.com.br, medicospelavidacovid19.com.br/editoriais/folha-de-s-paulo-revela-numeros-de-david-uip-veja-a-comparacao-com-medicos-que-fazem-tratamento-precoce/.
Please send us corrections, updates, or comments.
c19early involves the extraction of 200,000+ datapoints from
thousands of papers. Community updates
help ensure high accuracy.
Treatments and other interventions are complementary.
All practical, effective, and safe
means should be used based on risk/benefit analysis.
No treatment or intervention is 100% available and effective for all current
and future variants.
We do not provide medical advice. Before taking any medication,
consult a qualified physician who can provide personalized advice and details
of risks and benefits based on your medical history and situation. IMA and WCH
provide treatment protocols.
Thanks for your feedback! Please search before submitting papers and note
that studies are listed under the date they were first available, which may be
the date of an earlier preprint.