Beware Of The Side Effects

Pfizer and Merck have rushed to produce drugs that will lessen the severity of the coronavirus in people who contract the disease. Unfortunately, as with all medications, these drugs have side effects–some of which are dangerous.

On Sunday Newsmax reported the following:

Experts warn that despite the first antiviral pills for COVID-19 promising protection for those at risk of severe disease, Pfizer’s or Merck’s new medications may not be safe for everyone, NBC News reported over the weekend.

One of the two drugs in Pfizer’s Paxlovid antiviral cocktail could cause severe or life-threatening interactions with commonly used medications, including statins, blood thinners and some antidepressants, and the FDA does not recommend Paxlovid for those with severe kidney or liver disease.

In addition, due to concerns about the potential side effects of Merck’s molnupiravir, the FDA has restricted its use to adults and only in cases in which other treatments are inaccessible or are not ”clinically appropriate.”

Please follow the link above to read the entire article for further details.

Americans with high cholesterol are routinely put on statins; Americans with a-fib or other heart issues are routinely put on blood thinners. Hopefully doctors will take this into consideration before prescribing the antiviral pills. All medications have side effects–medicine is a risk vs. reward profession. I am concerned, however, about the too close relationship between the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies. Many doctors who have been seeing Covid patients for the past two years believe that there are effective, inexpensive ways of dealing with the disease that have been blocked by the FDA in favor of protocols that provide greater profits for the pharmaceutical industry.

Good News About Covid

Sara Carter is reporting today that medical research company Merck announced Friday that their investigational oral antiviral medicine reduced the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The medicine also reduced the number of deaths.

The article reports:

Nearly 1,550 COVID positive patients were a part of the study. Every single one had at least one risk factor. Out of those, only 7.3% of those who received the medicine, molnupiravir, hospitalized themselves as a result of their illness. Meanwhile, out of the control group of the study, 14.1% either died or visited a hospital. After 29 days, eight people who did not receive the medicine died while not a single person who received it died.

Merk’s CEO and President Robert M. Davis hopes that this will ease the strain caused by the virus. “With these compelling results, we are optimistic that molnupiravir can become an important medicine as part of the global effort to fight the pandemic and will add to Merck’s unique legacy of bringing forward breakthroughs in infectious diseases when they are needed most,” Davis said.

Ridgeback Biotherapeutics CEO Wendy Holman was equally optimistic. “We are very encouraged by the results from the interim analysis and hope molnupiravir, if authorized for use, can make a profound impact in controlling the pandemic,” Holman said.

The Covid virus will probably be with us permanently. Having a simple oral medication that successfully treats the virus would be wonderful. I also wonder if the research being done on treatments for Covid will eventually lead us to a cure for the common cold.