Dr. Anthony Fauci commended an investigational antiviral drug that, according to its developer, can cut COVID-19 hospitalizations and fatalities in those who have recently been infected by the coronavirus by half.
The preliminary research results for Merck's COVID-19 pill, which were disclosed over the weekend, are "actually quite good," the White House chief medical adviser on Sunday said.
Members of the White House COVID-19 Response Team said Friday that recent trials indicating the efficiency of Merck's experimental new COVID-19 pill were encouraging, but that vaccines would still be the most effective approach to end the pandemic.
"You now have a tiny molecule, an orally administered medicine. And the trial results, which were just revealed yesterday and the day before, are really extremely impressive," Fauci said on ABC's "This Week" with Jonathan Karl.
According to White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients, the US government had already made arrangements to purchase 1.7 million doses of the pill, with the option to purchase more if necessary.
The Merck drug, if granted emergency use approval, would be the first COVID-19 medication to be administered orally rather than via injection or intravenous drip.
After the medicine's excellent performance in the clinical trial, which included individuals at high risk of severe sickness, Merck and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said Friday that they will seek FDA approval for the treatment "as soon as possible."
The treatment, known as molnupiravir, works by preventing the coronavirus from copying its genetic code and reproducing itself. Patients with mild to moderate symptoms of the disease who were at higher risk of severe illness took the pill twice a day for five days to complete a treatment course.
Because the interim results were so promising, an independent panel of medical professionals overseeing the experiment suggested ending it early.
Fauci presented data gathered over the previous 30 days at hospitals in King County, Washington, which he claimed further confirmed the vaccine's efficacy against the Delta strain.
Unvaccinated people were eight times more likely to test positive for COVID-19, 41 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 57% more likely to die from it, according to the findings.
