2nd pill to beat back COVID OK’d
U.S. health officials have granted emergency use authorization for a second antiviral pill used to treat COVID-19 as omicron cases rage from coast to coast.
Molnupiravir, created by Merck in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, has been approved for use by adults 18 years of age and older who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are at high risk of being hospitalized or dying, the Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday.
The pill, which prevents the SARS-CoV-2 virus from replicating, is taken orally every 12 hours for five days.
“As new variants of the virus continue to emerge, it is crucial to expand the country’s arsenal of COVID-19 therapies using emergency use authorization, while continuing to generate additional data on their safety and effectiveness,” said Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Health officials warned that molnupiravir is not a substitute for vaccines, and that it is not a preventative drug.
People who are pregnant are advised not to use molnupiravir because it might harm fetuses. Those under the age of 18 are also not allowed to use the antiviral because it may affect bone and cartilage growth.
The FDA’s approval comes just a day after it authorized Pfizer’s antiviral pill, Paxlovid, which can be used to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and children.
Paxlovid is almost 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients, Pfizer announced earlier this month.
By comparison, Merck’s version is reported to be about 30% effective at reducing hospitalizations and deaths, with more side effects and risks, including diarrhea, nausea and dizziness.
Both Paxlovid and molnupiravir are believed to maintain their effectiveness against the omicron strain.
Merck said in late November that it expects to produce 10 million courses of molnupiravir by the end of this year, with at least 20 million set to be manufactured in 2022. A course is a quantity of drug or pills that can treat one person’s disease.
The U.S. government has a contract with Merck to buy up to five million courses or the drug for $700 each.
Federal officials are racing to fight the fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19.
President Biden announced Tuesday that the government will buy a half-billion home COVID-19 tests and make them available free for all Americans. A thousand military medical professionals are also being dispersed to hospitals around the country to help with overflow.
“I know you’re tired, really, and I know you’re frustrated,” Biden said in a public address. “We all want this to be over, but we’re still in it.”
In New York, Mayor de Blasio said Thursday that the New Year’s Eve bash at Times Square will be scaled down to just 15,000 people to allow for social distancing. Revelers will be required to wear face masks.
Gov. Hochul announced new measures to ramp up testing, including pop-up sites at subway stations beginning next week. The state government has also purchased 37 million at-home tests that can be ordered free online.