Psychiatric Drugs Could Be the Key to Treating Covid-19

Antidepressants and antipsychotics could offer protection against the coronavirus, but not because of their effect on the brain

Photo illustration sources: Larry Washburn; Andriy Onufriyenko; Getty Images

At the beginning of the pandemic, doctors in France prepared for an influx of psychiatric patients with Covid-19, creating special units in hospitals to care for people with mental health problems who contracted the novel coronavirus. People with psychiatric disorders were presumed to be at an increased risk for infection because of potential difficulties complying with protective measures, limited access to health care, close living conditions for those residing in psychiatric wards, and high rates of comorbidities like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. But to the doctors’ surprise, the units remained largely empty, even during the most severe stage of the pandemic.

This observation led the doctors to ask whether psychiatric drugs could be offering some protection against the coronavirus. Sure enough, they found that 10 of the 18 most commonly prescribed psychiatric drugs — antidepressant, antipsychotic, and anti-anxiety medications — have known antiviral properties, including against the coronaviruses SARS and MERS.