At what point in an unfolding epidemic does the risk of infection exceed the risk of antiviral treatment? This question is relevant because it determines the incentive for individuals to take antiviral drugs. We focus on the probability that an individual is alive after a certain time (the horizon) given that it is initially susceptible or (partially) protected against infection by antiviral control. If the probability to remain alive is larger when initially susceptible than when under antiviral treatment, the best option is not to take antiviral drugs. Otherwise the reverse is true. The formal analyses are given in Text S1. Here we summarize the main findings. 