Antiviral pill for COVID-19
- October 2, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Antiviral pill for COVID-19
Subject – Science and Tech
Context – Merck’s antiviral pill could change the game for COVID-19
Concept –
- A new drug by Merck significantly reduces the risk of hospitalization and death in people who take it early in the course of their COVID-19 illness, according to the interim results of a major study released today.
- It is the first oral antiviral found to be effective against this coronavirus.
- People who took this drug, called molnupiravir—four pills twice a day for five days—within five days of showing symptoms were about half as likely to be hospitalized as those taking the placebo.
- They were also less likely to die, with eight deaths in the placebo group reported within a month of treatment and none in those who received the medicine.
- All of the antiviral medicines available today, including remdesivir and the monoclonal antibodies, must be administered through an IV in a medical setting.
- Monoclonal antibodies are much more effective against COVID-19 and cut the risk of hospitalization and death by up to 85 percent, but this treatment costs almost three times as much as molnupiravir.
To know about Monoclonal Antibody Therapy and antivirals, please click here.