An experimental Covid antiviral pill cuts the risk of hospitalisation or death by about half, interim clinical trial results suggest. The tablet – molnupiravir – was given twice a day to patients recently diagnosed with the disease.

An analysis of 775 patients in the study found:

• 7.3% of those given molnupiravir were hospitalised
• that compares with 14.1% of patients who were given a placebo or dummy pill
• there were no deaths in the molnupiravir group, but eight patients who were given a placebo in the trial later died of Covid

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