Antivirals approved for treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and the associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are largely lacking.In a recent study in Cell Research,Wang et al.show that the clinically proven antibiotic dalbavancin blocks SARS-CoV-2 binding to its receptor ACE2 and reduces viral spread and pathogenesis in animal models.The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a high global disease burden and death toll,dramatic economic losses,and ensuing social hardships.More than 2000 patients are currently dying from COVID-19 every day in the US alone and COVID-19-associated deaths have globally surpassed one million.Despite intensive efforts to identify new drugs or to repurpose existing drugs for COVID-19 treatment,only few promising candidates are available.Remdesivir,an inhibitor of the viral polymerase,has been reported to reduce time of hospitalization,1 but recent studies questioned the clinical usefulness of this drug.2 Dexamethasone,which diminishes the uncontrolled expression of cytokines during the hyperin-flammation phase of COVID-19,was shown to reduce COVID-19-associated mortality3 but does not exert antiviral activity.Initial data indicate that RNA- as well as vector-based vaccines might be effective.However,a notable impact of vaccines on the course of the pandemic is only expected for the second half of 2021 and a significant fraction of the population might not have access to vaccines or might opt not to use them.Therefore,potent antivirals are urgently needed.