What does Merck's announcement mean for Covid Vaccines?

Merck’s pill is something like Tamiflu® but for COVID-19 virus.
Here’s what does and how Tamiflu® works. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/tamiflu-consumer-questions-and-answers

The best thing is to get a vaccination.

People interacting with the Stock Market doesn’t mean Merck pill is the answer.

Because you need to take Tamiflu®, when you have had flu symptoms for no more than 2 days. The Merck pill will probably be the same

It will be better than taking horse dewormer or aquarium cleaner ! !

What amazes me is people are still refusing an FDA approved vaccine but are eager to accept an experimental pill.

^Seriously! People amaze me, and not in a good way.

There will be 2% to 5% fewer anti-vaxxers by 2023.

@Caravanfan Wasn’t it you that was pushing an experimental vaccine so hard for months before it gained FDA approval (which, by the way, is a long way from actually being licensed)?

@Caravanfan But the question was just a question of what Merck’s new pill will do to the vaccines. Attacking others really isn’t answering the question. Do you believe that if Merck gets EUA for these pills that the drive for getting everyone vaccinated will abate? Should it? If this pill does what it is touted to do, which is keep most people out of the hospital, isn’t it just as good and maybe better than the vaccines which really don’t keep you from getting the disease? Will people start really resisting all the push for the vaccines? The questions surrounding a treatment instead of the vaccines are plentiful. And most don’t involve attacking others.

It means people who get sick have a treatment that’s much easier than getting an IV treatment.

It will not change the push for vaccines. The vaccine has proven to be safe and effective (even if not as perfect as we had hoped) and will slow the virus more and more the more we vaccinate the population and actually the vaccine will be closer to perfect as that happens and with the third shots.

People vaccine hesitant will be reinforced to not get vaccinate though. They rather take treatment than the vaccine.

So, should I wait until I get leprosy to take a pill that will hopefully lessen the disease, or take a vaccine that in thousands of cases, and shown by science, that will ensure I never get the disease? Hmmm, hard choice. ~

@chyna They count on one of two things, not catching covid, so then they never have to put any drug or vaccine into their body, and a friend of mine who caught covid and ran for the antibody treatment now feels she has natural immunity since she had covid (even thought the antibody treatment is synthetic from what I understand). Why don’t people understand that getting the vaccine is 100% a foreign substance in your body, and risking catching covid is just a chance. I think they are nuts not to get the vaccine now that we have well over a year of data on the safety, but I am not them.

@seawulf575 I’m not saying the new drug isn’t good news. It’s excellent news, and as soon as it’s available I will definitely use it as we have literally nothing now that works. I’m saying that the same people who eschew vaccine are embracing this.

I’ll just add that the field of Covid-related medicine is littered with drugs that have been found not to do squat, or to only mildly help. I hope this one is better. But medicine by press release is never a good idea.

It means NOTHING! Just more money for these greedy companies

@Caravanfan I agree with you that medicine by press release is never a good idea. And I’m not supporting or demonizing this particular drug. I just think that it will have an impact on the world’s views of vaccines.

@seawulf575 Here’s the thing. People are comparing it to Tamiflu, but what those people don’t realize is that Tamiflu sucks. It decreases, maybe, duration of symptoms for a day. The thing with Covid is that most people have mild to moderate symptoms and they would have gotten better anyway. It’s that smaller subset of people who get severe Covid with lung, kidney, brain, and heart failure that are really nasty. Sure, if a particular person gets covid and feels sick for a day or two, and feels better after the pill, great. But then they transmit it to their wife who doesn’t get as lucky and gets severely ill. Will the drug help them?

It’s much safer and easier for everybody to get vaccinated so as to not have to face that to begin with.

Gottlieb says 1.7M doses of Merck COVID-19 bought by US are ‘not enough’

Get vaccinated !

Merck are charging $700 for something thats worth about $20 generic source

They’re just taking advantage of the rich and stupid.

Where did you get $700 @Lightlyseared ?

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/557511-biden-administration-plans-to-purchase-17-million-courses-of-mercks
USA bought 1.7 million of five-day treatment courses of the drug molnupiravir. For cost of $1.2 million.

$1.2/1.7 = $0.70 for 5 days of medication.

@Tropical_Willie That’s funny, Merck are under the impression they are getting 1.2 BIILLLION to supply 1.7 million doses which comes out $705 plus change per dose.

Mercks Press release where they say they’re getting 1.2 BILLION

I’m guessing your source has typo as they actually link to the Merck press release and I’m surprised you didn’t click through and have a look at it