Covid-19: Molnupiravir does not cut hospital admissions or deaths in vaccinated people at high risk, trial finds

The antiviral drug molnupiravir does not reduce hospital admissions or deaths among vaccinated high risk patients with covid-19 infection, show the results of a landmark trial that included more than 25 000 participants.1However, the oral treatment was associated with reduced viral detection and load, and patients recovered around four days more quickly than those who received usual care. The Panoramic study, now peer reviewed and published in the Lancet, was first available as a preprint in October.2In November 2021 the UK was the first country to authorise Merck Sharp & Dohme’s molnupiravir (Lagevrio) for the treatment of mild to moderate covid-19 in adults with at least one risk factor for severe illness. The government bought 2.23 million doses at an estimated cost of £1bn, and the then health secretary Sajid Javid called it a “gamechanger for the most vulnerable and the immunosuppressed.”34 However, the government was criticised for overhyping the…
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