While national efforts to eliminate hepatitis C have faced setbacks because of increased drug use, the impact of COVID-19 and insurance complications, there’s a bright spot: Some states are now making it easier for patients to treat the disease.
Hepatitis C — a viral inflammation of the liver spread through blood and other bodily fluids that infects more than 2 million adults and contributes to 14,000 deaths annually — has increased in recent years, with the Infectious Diseases Society of America estimating that hepatitis C infections spiked 71 percent from 2014 through 2018.
There’s a cure for it. Gilead’s two direct-acting antiviral drugs — Sovaldi and Harvoni — have been available for nearly a decade. The Food and Drug Administration approved Sovaldi in December 2013 and Harvoni in October 2014. Since then, the FDA has approved other antivirals.
