https://www.science.org/content/article/could-popular-covid-19-antiviral-supercharge-pandemicby Robert F. Service
February 1, 2023
A widely used COVID-19 drug may be driving the appearance of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, sparking concerns it could prolong and even reinvigorate the pandemic. The drug, molnupiravir, produced by Merck & Co., is designed to kill the virus by inducing mutations in the viral genome. A survey of viral genomes reported in a new preprint, however, suggests some people treated with the drug generate novel viruses that not only remain viable, but spread.
“It’s very clear that viable mutant viruses can survive [molnupiravir treatment] and compete [with existing variants],” says virologist William Haseltine, chair of ACCESS Health International, who has repeatedly raised concerns about the drug. “I think we are courting disaster.”
(excerpt)
