Fauci Lauds New Merck COVID-19 Drug That Cuts Death Rate by Half

Former President Donald Trump's advocacy of pharmaceutical and other therapies for treating coronavirus were ridiculed in 2020, but several treatments have since been recognised as effective by authorities, including the World Health Organisation.

White House COVID-19 czar Anthony Fauci has praised a new drug for treating COVID-19 after trials found it reduced hospitalisations and deaths by half.

President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser told a White House press conference on Friday that "the data are impressive" on molnupiravir, developed by Big Pharma firm Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

Fauci said he had been briefed on the results of a clinical study on Thursday evening. None of the test subjects who received the drug died, compared to eight participants receiving a placebo who did.

But he remained tight-lipped on if and when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would approve the drug for prescription.

"We always hesitate to make any timelines", Fauci insisted, but added that the FDA would move "as quickly as they possibly can" to review the trial data.

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, boasted that his state had reduced hospitalisations by almost three-quarters by using monoclonal antibody therapy — a figure in line with the latest World Health Organisation findings.

"We set up 25 monoclonal antibody sites across Florida, and we’ve seen about a 70% reduction in COVID-19 hospitalizations", DeSantis wrote on his Telegram channel. "Early treatment saves lives".

The Biden administration and liberal media have attacked DeSantis for lifting coronavirus restrictions in the Sunshine State and allowing parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates.