Merck's COVID Pill Has Been Called a 'Game Changer' -- Is It?

You get sick with COVID-19. Instead of quarantining and hoping you don't get worse, or heading into the hospital, you can simply call your doctor, get a prescription, and take it at home. Seems too good to be true. But is it the future of COVID-19 treatment? Merck is hoping their new antiviral will do just that. The company officially submitted an application Monday to the FDA for emergency use authorization, for what would be the first pill to treat COVID-19. This pill, molnupiravir, has been called everything from a "game changer" to "blockbuster." The approval could come in a matter of weeks. But is it all it's been talked up to be? On this week's episode, William Schaffner, MD, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, helps explain what the new pill means in the fight against COVID-19, and what to watch for as it moves toward emergency use.