More red flags than a Russian battleship…
Interesting news coming out of Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, announcing a new pill named molnupiravir that has supposedly “halve the chances of dying or being hospitalized for those most at risk of contracting severe COVID-19…”
However, buried deep in the article from the Reuters news service some rather disturbing news.
As stated in the piece penned by Deena Beasley and Carl O’Donnell for Reuters (emphasis mine);
Merck has said data shows molnupiravir is not capable of inducing genetic changes in human cells, but men enrolled in its trials had to abstain from heterosexual intercourse or agree to use contraception. Women of child-bearing age in the study could be pregnant and also had to use birth control.
Interestingly enough, Yahoo News as well as the news division of NASDAQ.com (with the by-line of Deena Beasley or Reuters fame), the line about pregnant women is curiously different (emphasis mine);
Women of child-bearing age cannot be pregnant and also have to use birth control.
But with that further damaging the credibility of this alleged breakthrough drug, I take it that this goop can’t change one’s genetic code but shouldn’t be introduced to sperm nor an unfertilized egg?
Color me skeptical, but this certainly appears to me to be the recipe for either children dying in the womb, or babies born with birth defects.
With all that aside for the moment, back to the original Reuters article regarding those with pre-existing conditions (emphasis mine);
All patients had at least one risk factor associated with poor disease outcome, such as obesity or older age.
However much Reuters wanted to downplay those with at least one risk factor, the Merck.com at least bothers to give more specifics (emphasis mine);
The most common risk factors for poor disease outcome included obesity, older age (>60 years), diabetes mellitus, and heart disease.
So this pill will supposedly take care of COVID, but if you’re over 60, fat, diabetic and have whatever heart ailment… then it still sucks to be you.
Again, back to the original Reuters article, here’s what the Biden Administration plans on charging the American taxpayers;
The company has a U.S. government contract to supply 1.7 million courses of molnupiravir at a price of $700 per course.
The U.S. government has the option to purchase up to an additional 3.5 million treatment courses if needed, a U.S. health official told Reuters.
That’s $3.64 billion for a drug that very possibly could do unknown damage to God knows how many generations.
Welcome to Biden’s America.