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

In 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.”3 4 However, the government was criticised for overhyping the antiviral drug in official press releases.5 6