Antiviral drugs are medicines that fight against viruses in your body by impeding the infection process. Antivirals are commonly used to treat HIV/AIDS, influenza, herpes, and hepatitis B and C. The antiviral, Remdesivir, which was originally developed to fight Ebola, is now being used to treat  COVID-19.

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, explains how antivirals work to shorten the course of the disease.