--- title: New Antiviral COVID-19 Pill Cuts Risk for Hospitalization and Death description: Drug manufacturer Merck has announced it has created an antiviral pill that could drastically reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections. image: https://blog.nisbenefits.com/hubfs/blog-headers/covid%20pill%20B.jpg --- ![New Antiviral COVID-19 Pill Cuts Risk for Hospitalization and Death](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/hubfs/blog-headers/covid%20pill%20B.jpg) # New Antiviral COVID-19 Pill Cuts Risk for Hospitalization and Death - Home - [Employee Benefit News for School, City and County Employers](https://blog.nisbenefits.com) - New Antiviral COVID-19 Pill Cuts Risk for Hospitalization and Death [ Erin Woulfe ](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/author/erin-woulfe) 10/14/2021 [ Legislative News](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/topic/aca-other-legislative-news), [ COVID-19](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/topic/covid-19) [0 Comments ](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/new-antiviral-covid-19-pill#postComment) 1 Minutes *1 minute read* Drug manufacturer Merck has announced it has created an antiviral pill that could drastically reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections. Molnupiravir has shown to reduce the risk of COVID-19 hospitalizations and death by 50%. Merck will be seeking emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration as soon as possible. The drug is taken orally and is a series of pills. It is not a vaccine. The pills work by affecting how the COVID-19 virus replicates. It’s unclear when this pill may enter the market for public use. Even if it’s granted EUA, the drug might be limited to vulnerable populations. Antiviral treatments may be the next step in overcoming the pandemic. Health leaders expect the treatment may be more widespread in the future. [Download the bulletin](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/hubfs/Blog%20-%20supporting%20documents/bulletin-merck-antiviral-covid-pill.pdf) for more details. *This blog is intended to be a compilation of information and resources pulled from federal, state, and local agencies. This is not intended to be legal advice. 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