Samples of the virus that were obtained from a number of patients with covid show that the anti-viral medication Lagevrio (molnupiravir) that was developed by Merck & Co. may be responsible for the emergence of new “strains” of the illness.
A preprint study that was compiled by researchers from the Francis Crick Institute in the United States and Imperial College London explains that the drug-linked mutations of the so-called “virus” are not necessarily more immune-evasive or lethal, but they are occurring. The study was compiled by researchers in both institutions.
Concerning, particularly as the medicine gains popularity in communist China and other parts of the world, is the fact that mutations are occurring at all, rather not the “miracle cure” that Merck predicted would occur.
The way that Lagevrio works is that it generates changes in the genome of the covid virus. These mutations are meant to prevent the virus from multiplying within the body, which lowers the risk of developing a serious sickness. However, because of the way the medicine operates, the mutations that are definitely going to result in problems could not be avoided.
According to Jonathan Li, a virologist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, “There’s always been this underlying fear that it may contribute to a problem creating new variations.”
In an email response to inquiries regarding the new research and its conclusions, he said that “based on existing evidence we do not feel that Lagevrio (molnupiravir) is likely to contribute to the generation of new important coronavirus variants.”
According to Josephson, any new variations or subvariants that develop as a result of taking molnupiravir must be the result of the “pandemic.” He claims that molnupiravir is not the issue but rather the answer to all new variants.
Josephson also referred to animal research as “proof” to support his claim that Merck did not notice any adverse effects from administering molnupiravir to the test animals in the aforementioned instance. Additionally, he disputed that the findings of the current research had anything to do with the medication in any way, shape, or form.
Josephson claims that the findings of the researchers that contributed to the current publication were derived from “circumstantial connections between viral sequence origin and period of sequence collection in countries where molnupiravir is accessible.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States, which initially granted approval for Lagevrio in late 2021, has declined to comment on the newly published study because it was conducted by a third party. According to MSN, the FDA only collaborates with “covid drug makers,” not with independent researchers. (That brings up a very another point.)
In order to discover probable drug-linked changes, the research looked at around 13 million viral genomes stored in databases located all over the globe. Researchers discovered that drug-linked mutations were proportionately more prevalent in nations where Lagevrio is likely to be used, such as the United States and Australia, as well as in locations where it was launched early in the market.
In addition, scientists discovered that relatively few hallmark mutations are present in viral genomes in nations such as Canada, France, and other places in the world where Lagevrio is not commercially accessible.
According to Theo Sanderson, a geneticist at the Crick Institute who headed the team that conducted the current research, “these impacts are obvious in these databases.” It would seem that patients are receiving treatment; nevertheless, some of them are unable to rid themselves of their diseases, while others are infecting others.
Lin continued by saying, “It’s a really stressful scenario.” “There is no indication that any of these mutants is worse in any way – not yet – but it’s widely acknowledged that you’re playing with fire if you’re producing random mutations and expecting that nothing terrible would come of it,” said the researcher. “Not yet, anyhow.”