Australia to buy new COVID-19 drug Molnupiravir if regulator approves: PM Scott Morrison

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated on Monday that if the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approves Molnupiravir which is a developing oral treatment against COVID-19 then Australia would acquire 3,00,000 doses of it. Molnupiravir is a novel COVID-19 medication that is in the form of a capsule developed by Merck Sharp & Dohme and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. As per the developers of the capsule, clinical trials have demonstrated that the treatment is effective against all COVID-19 variations and decreases the risk of hospitalisation or death by half. 

Prime Minister Morrison further stated about the COVID-19 drug Molnupiravir, “If the medical experts at the TGA approve this treatment for use, it will join other COVID-19 treatments such as sotrovimab and remdesivir, which are already available to Australian doctors to help treat those with COVID-19,” ANI reported quoting The Australian.

Molnupiravir prohibits the virus from replicating and reproducing its genetic code. The Therapeutic Goods Administration will begin examining the medication this year, but this type of treatment will not be extensively used until the starting of 2022. The cost of the therapy has yet to be determined. 

Vaccine roll out in Australia

Australian PM Morrison also mentioned that Australia's vaccination rate is increasing, therefore the administration is now actively monitoring COVID-19 medicines which are under development and trying to ensure that potential treatments are available for the disease. He further added that vaccinations and innovative treatments will help in the advancement of the National Plan to reopen Australia as well as to keep it open safely. 

Meanwhile, a few days back on October 1st, following the completion of the review, Australia has approved a COVID-19 vaccine made by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac as a "recognised vaccine". The TGA stated in its recommendation on the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines which are used internationally but were not licensed in Australia that the vaccine had a 64 percent of average efficiency against symptomatic illness and a 90 percent of effectiveness against hospitalisation. 

Furthermore, Australia had started with difficulty in its vaccine rollout yet the country is quickly climbing the worldwide charts for first-dose immunisation rates. According to Health Minister Greg Hunt, Australia has accomplished a "landmark" on October 5 morning, when 80 % of the population aged 16 and over received the COVID-19 vaccination.  

While according to the latest numbers provided by the Worldometer, the total number of confirmed cases in the nation is 115,800 whereas the total number of fatalities is 1,357. Over 89,905 have been recovered from the disease. Currently, the total number of active cases in the nation is 24,538 of which 296 infected people are in serious condition. 

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