The COVID-19 antiviral drug Molnupiravir helps speed up recovery from the virus but does not reduce the hospitalization or death rate in higher-risk vaccinated adults, a new study has found.
Molnupiravir, from Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Merck & Co. is used to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 and can be taken at home, twice a day for five days, within five days of symptoms onset.
It works by stopping the virus from replicating, keeping levels low in the body, thus reducing its severity.
The study was published in The Lancet on Dec. 22 and has been peer reviewed.
Between Dec. 8, 2021 and April 27, 2022, more than 25,700 eligible participants in the UK aged 50 or older—or 18 or older with relevant comorbidities—who had been unwell with confirmed COVID-19 for five days or less took part in the study, which was conducted when the Omicron variant was dominant….