The FDA on Thursday authorized the use of Merck’s antiviral COVID-19 pill, the second such emergency use authorization in the last two days.
The pill, called molnupiravir, helped to prevent high-risk people from becoming seriously sick and dying, cutting the risk of hospitalization or death by about 50 percent.
Merck said it expects to produce 10 million courses of the treatment by the end of the year, and plans to make the pill available globally.
A course of the treatment is 40 pills, eight a day for five days, started within five days of showing symptoms.
As previously reported by Human Events News, the FDA on Wednesday authorized the first Covid-19 antiviral pill for emergency use. The Pfizer drug, called Paxlovid, will be prescribed for use in adults and children over the age of 12 with mild to moderate sickness who are at risk for severe disease or hospitalization.
