THE COMBINATION OF INHALED BUDESONIDE AND FORMOTEROL AS AN EARLY TREATMENT FOR THE COVID-19 DISEASE

The covid-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-cov2 coronavirus has sparked an unprecedented effort in the global scientific community. In a race against the clock, we are all on a mission to find a way to halt the so far unstoppable spread of the disease across the globe. Covid-19 would be one more viral disease among many others, if only it was not for the severe respiratory complications that occur in people with risk factors such as old age, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases or diabetes. The lethality of the disease is linked to the progression, towards a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in patients at risk. Here we propose a model that places the interplay of the renin-angiotensin system and the response of the lung’s innate immune system against the virus at the origin of SARS. Accordingly, we put forward a treatment plan for the consideration of the scientific and medical community. This treatment is, with small modifications, basically the same as in the so-called SMART asthma protocol that uses a combination of an inhaled glucocorticoid (preferentially budesonide) and an inhaled long acting beta-2 adrenergic agonist (LABA) (preferentially formoterol). We recommend to begin treating the patients at risk early on in the disease (at the time of presentation of the first flu-like symptoms), instead of waiting for  the first signs of SARS (dyspnea). This will allow us to gain time and prevent deaths before we are able to deploy an effective vaccine against the SARS-Cov2 coronavirus.