Can cholesterol-lowering drugs like simvastatin and atorvastatin also help fight a pandemic sparked by bird flu?

It is possible and should be tested, says a physician who has studied immunization for decades. David Fedson, former director of medical affairs of a leading pharmaceutical company and a physician himself has made this statement.

The idea behind the statement is that vaccines and antiviral drugs will likely be unavailable in many places in the early months of a pandemic. Statins, which have been shown to have many effects other than lipid loweing effects, may be acquired more cheaply than vaccines and antivirals because of generic competition.

How effective they will be is still questionable, but the idea may be worth following with some research.