News MERCK Molnupurnavir first true COVID-19 pill shown to work.

[Joey]

U.K. authorizes Merck antiviral pill, 1st shown to treat COVID-19

Britain granted conditional authorization on Thursday to the first pill shown to successfully treat COVID-19 so far. It also is the first country to OK the treatment from drugmaker Merck, although it wasn't immediately clear how quickly the pill would be available.

www.ctvnews.ca

LONDON -- Britain granted conditional authorizationon Thursday to the first pill shown to successfully treat COVID-19 so far. It also is the first country to OK the treatment from drugmaker Merck, although it wasn't immediately clear how quickly the pill would be available.

The pill was licensed for adults 18 and older who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have at least one risk factor for developing severe disease, such as obesity or heart disease. Patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 would take four pills of the drug, known molnupiravir, twice a day for five days.

 

[Jabberwocky]

this class of drugs is amazing for controlling HIV but side effects are pretty intense.

not seen data for molnupiravir specifically but i'm not sure it is worth it for people with mild to moderate symptoms. need to do some more reading though to know for sure so don't take my word for it.for those at risk of developing severe disease, and presumably thus death or debilitating after effects, it seems like a good bet.

part of me thinks this is a desperate attempt to make the UKs laissez-faire policies less disastrous but it does seem a reasonable bet and i'd expect to see other countries following suit soon.