HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Antiviral pills to help treat Covid-19 have arrived on Guam as new case numbers remain in the triple digits.
On Sunday, the Joint Information Center reported a preliminary count of 364 new cases of Covid-19, taken from 1,023 tests analyzed Jan. 29.
Additional results from tests pending analysis and submissions from private clinics will be added to this count later today.
Of the 8,150 Covid-19 cases in active isolation, 40 are being treated at local hospitals, a jump of six admissions reported compared to the day prior.
The Department of Public Health and Social Services confirmed Guam can begin offering a new antiviral treatment for Covid-19, with the arrival and distribution of molnupiravir, an oral medication produced by Merck, a biotherapeutics company.
Dr. Nathaniel Berg, chairman of the governor’s Physicians Advisory Group, said Public Health is working closely with local clinics and pharmacies to ensure they’re aware of who can take the antiviral pills, in terms of contraindications and health conditions.
Generally speaking, the antiviral treatment “significantly reduces the risk of someone with mild to moderate Covid-19 developing into a serious condition,” he said.
The antiviral treatment comes as DPHSS has had to prioritize testing, as well as monoclonal antibody treatments, because of shortages of kits and medicines.
Despite most hospitalized patients having been vaccinated for the virus, JIC said unvaccinated residents are six times likelier to need hospital-level medical care, when comparing hypothetical even populations based on the island’s vaccination rates.
Molnupiravir received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat adults “who are at high risk for progression to severe Covid-19, including hospitalization or death,” Merck stated in a press release.
Merck said in its statement: “The recommended dose for molnupiravir is 800 mg (four 200 mg capsules) taken orally every 12 hours for five days, with or without food. Completion of the full five-day treatment course is important to maximize viral clearance and minimize transmission of SARS-CoV-2.”
In its clinical study, Merck stated, the main side effects of taking the drug were diarrhea, nausea and dizziness.
“Based on the strong science behind molnupiravir — a single oral medicine that interrupts replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with data demonstrating a significant reduction in the risk of hospitalizations and deaths — molnupiravir has the potential to become an important tool for health care professionals and appropriate patients,” said Dr. Dean Li, president of Merck Research Laboratories.
