Virucidal Effect of Povidone Iodine on COVID-19 – Randomized Clinical Trial

Povidone-iodine (PVP-I) is a time-tested antiseptic agent with excellent virucidal (99.99%) properties. Repurposing it against coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is a relatively newer concept and has been sparsely tested in vivo. The most common route of entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) is the nasopharynx. Hence, it was targeted to prevent access and contamination of the nasopharynx by several protective measures, including facemasks. Averting colonization of the virus could be one of the best options to reduce the incidence of infection.