The Importance of Not Getting Too Ernest Too Quickly

Merck and Co's molnupiravir Covid pill initially created great excitement. Preliminary studies suggested it could speed up recovery for vaccinated, albeit vulnerable patients (the elderly and the immunocompromised). The UK was one of the first to approve molnupiravir's use (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/22/molnupiravir-pill-for-covid-does-not-reduce-risk-of-hospitalisation-or-death-uk-study-finds). A substantial Oxford University trial has, cast doubts on earlier claims. Almost 26,000 vaccinated but vulnerable patients were allocated to two groups. One group just received regular care after becoming infected. The other had a 5 day course of molnupiravir. Although the drug speeded up recovery, it didn't reduce the patient's likelihood of needing hospital care or of dying. This just confirms that one shouldn't be too impressive by preliminary studies. well-controlled, systematic investigations with good numbers of subjects are needed for proper evaluation.