Very long-acting antivirals as chemovaccines for preventing viral infections

Abstract

Following the advent of penicillin as first widely used antibiotic during World War II, viruses have steadily replaced bacteria as major agents of infections, particularly for microorganisms that can spread globally. Good examples are pandemics caused by HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and nowadays severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the coronavirus of coronavirus disease (COVID)-19.