ABOUT THIS PODCAST
COVID-19 is an ongoing public health challenge, and the disease continues to spread to patients every day. Numerous factors can influence the risk of adverse outcomes from COVID-19 including vaccination status, the number and type of medical conditions, immunosuppression, and age, along with sociodemographic factors and nonpharmaceutical interventions. For high-risk patients with non-severe COVID-19, antiviral medications can reduce progression to severe COVID-19 and can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death. Despite guideline recommended use of these medications and demonstrated effectiveness, the use of COVID-19 antiviral medications is low.
Pharmacists are well positioned to help address the ongoing risks and disease burden associated with COVID-19 by recognizing patients at elevated risk who may benefit from treatment, assessing emerging clinical data that support antiviral use, and facilitating access to these therapies. This activity will provide an overview of the current status of COVID-19 across the United States and assess the role of antiviral treatments in improving patient outcomes.
Katherine Yang, PharmD, MPH, FCSHP is a Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Pharmacy at the UCSF School of Pharmacy and an infectious diseases clinical pharmacist at the UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, California. Dr. Yang specializes in the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic optimization of antibiotic dosing for the treatment of multi-drug resistant gram-negative infections. Since the start of the pandemic, Dr. Yang has been heavily involved in the management of COVID-19 therapeutics. 
Sarah Parsons, PharmD, BCPPS, FPPA is a clinical pharmacy specialist in pediatric infectious diseases and the co-director of the antimicrobial stewardship program at the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. Dr. Parsons received her Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from Virginia Commonwealth School of Pharmacy. She completed a PGY1 with pediatric focus at HCA Health system in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Parsons specializes in the treatment of multi-drug resistant gram negative infections, nontuberculous mycobacterium in cystic fibrosis, COVID/MIS-C, and vaccine preventable diseases in children. She is an active member of many pharmacy, pediatric, and infectious diseases professional organizations, including ASHP, the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists, the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, and is a 2025 fellow of the Pediatric Pharmacy Association.
Michael Ganio, PharmD, MS, BCSCP, FASHP joined the staff at ASHP as Director of Pharmacy Practice and Quality in January of 2018. As a member of the Center on Medication Safety and Quality team, his responsibilities span the practice of pharmacy and include drug shortages, pharmaceutical quality, sterile and non-sterile drug compounding practices, hazardous drug handling, and the ASHP Standardize 4 Safety initiative. Dr. Ganio earned his Pharm.D. from the Rutgers University Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy and his Master’s degree in Health-System Pharmacy Administration from The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. He completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice residency at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Dr. Ganio is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) and a Board Certified Sterile Compounding Pharmacist (BCSCP). 
