What is the news?
Molnupiravir drug which was recently approved for early-stage Covid-19 patients has been kept out of the treatment protocol recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
This is because the drug has serious safety concerns.
| Must Read: What is Molnupiravir? |
What are the safety concerns associated with Molnupiravir drug?
Low Effectiveness: The drug was found to be only 30% effective in trials, much lower than earlier indications.
Worries over Mechanism of the Drug: The drug works by incorporating itself into the RNA of the virus, inducing mutations with the objective of hampering replication.
But this carries the risk of introducing mutations that can make the virus stronger and more dangerous. A bigger risk of the drug is of creating mutations in the human DNA itself.
Side Effects: The drug can cause teratogenicity (is the ability to cause defects in a developing foetus), cartilage damage and can also be damaging to muscles.
Source: This post is based on the article ‘Anti-Covid pill Molnupiravir: Approved, not recommended’ published in Indian Express on 7th Jan 2022.
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