
'Every one of those deaths is unnecessary,' expert says of rising Covid-19 US death toll as tens of millions remain unvaccinated
CNN
With a first-of-its-kind antiviral pill against Covid-19 potentially headed towards distribution, the health care community may soon have another tool to combat a virus that has claimed the lives of more than 700,000 Americans.
Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said Friday that they created an antiviral pill that can reduce risk of Covid-19 hospitalization and death by 50%, and Merck said it will seek emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its molnupiravir medication "as soon as possible."
"We'll be able to prescribe this to folks. They'll take a five-day course and hopefully be able to stay home, not come in for an intravenous infusion and keep folks out of the hospital. So, it's really very promising news," Dr. Jonathan Reiner, CNN medical analyst and professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, told CNN's Pamela Brown Saturday.

A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing most of his executive order on elections against the vote-by-mail states Washington and Oregon, in the latest blow to Trump’s efforts to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote and to require that all ballots be received by Election Day.

A Border Patrol agent shot two people in Portland, Oregon, during a traffic stop after authorities said they were associated with a Venezuelan gang, another incident in a string of confrontations with federal authorities that have left Americans frustrated with immigration enforcement during the Trump administration.











