Er lijkt dan plotseling toch een geneesmiddel tegen Corona te zijn gevonden. Farmaceut Merck heeft al spoedgoedkeuring aangevraagd bij de FDA.

Tot dusver werkte men voornamelijk met paardenmiddel Invermectine, dat alleen in een vroeg stadium van een Corona-besmetting werkzaam is. Molnupiravir lijkt echter in alle stadia werkzaam, doordat het de manier waarop het virus zich voortplant blokkeert.

16) the success of this new drug against #COVID19 came from careful smart research investment. The Biden administration directly invested $1.2 billion in early June 2021 – they pre-paid for the drug development and its pre purchase! https://t.co/flxYorJqP3 pic.twitter.com/xxOP0oV0ZJ

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) October 1, 2021

De claim van farmaceutisch bedrijf Merck is dan ook vrij veelomvattend: Persbureau AP bericht:

Merck & Co. said Friday that its experimental COVID-19 pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half in people recently infected with the coronavirus and that it would soon ask health officials in the U.S. and around the world to authorize its use.

En het lijkt een stuk veiliger dan wat de gevolgen van de vaccinatie te zien geven:

If cleared, Merck’s drug would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19, a potentially major advance in efforts to fight the pandemic. All COVID-19 therapies now authorized in the U.S. require an IV or injection.
Merck and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said early results showed patients who received the drug, called molnupiravir, within five days of COVID-19 symptoms had about half the rate of hospitalization and death as patients who received a dummy pill. The study tracked 775 adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who were considered higher risk for severe disease due to health problems such as obesity, diabetes or heart disease.

De resultaten van de tests waren tamelijk spectaculair:

Among patients taking molnupiravir, 7.3% were either hospitalized or died at the end of 30 days, compared with 14.1% of those getting the dummy pill. There were no deaths in the drug group after that time period compared with eight deaths in the placebo group, according to Merck. The results were released by the company and have not been peer reviewed. Merck said it plans to present them at a future medical meeting.

Hetgeen begeleidende artsen er toe aanzette alvast een volgend traject te starten, waarmee de Amerikaanse FDA het kan goedkeuren voor directe medische toepassing: