News: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has voted 13 to 10 to urge the government to approve Merck antiretroviral drugs for patients at risk for Covid-19. The drug, called molnupiravir, has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death, albeit less frequently than previously thought. Preliminary results in October found that it reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 50% given to 755 high-risk, non-vaccinated volunteers. Last week, after receiving updates from 1,433 patients, the reduction was reduced to 30%. “The effectiveness of the drug is not very good,” said team member David Hardy.
Lack of cooperation: The vote was very strong due to concerns about changes in medical data, as well as its security. James Hildreth, CEO of Meharry Medical College and one of its members, he said voted “no” out of concern that the use of molnupiravir, in theory, could lead to new forms of covid-19. Zina panelists, however, argued that the overall risk was too small to vote.
Who can take: If approved, the drug is given to people at high risk of covid-19 to drink twice a day at home for five days. Tens of millions of Americans who are elderly or have a medical condition may qualify, and they should start drinking within five days after the symptoms appear. The committee issued stricter restrictions on the use of molnupiravir in pregnant women, as a result of the side effects.
Next: In the coming weeks, the FDA will test similar pills from Pfizer that appear to be more effective than Merck’s, reducing the risk of hospitalization or death within the same patient groups by 89%. The hope is that these drugs will be able to provide reliable supplies in our covid-fighting equipment, especially since they are easily stored and can be taken home. The US government has already spent billions of dollars to get more new pills.