Drugmaker Merck asked U.S. regulators Monday to authorize its pill against COVID-19 in what would add an entirely new and easy-to-use weapon to the world’s arsenal against the pandemic.
If cleared by the Food and Drug Administration – a decision that could come in a matter of weeks – it would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19. All other FDA-backed treatments against the disease require an IV or injection.
An antiviral pill that people could take at home to reduce their symptoms and speed recovery could prove groundbreaking, easing the crushing caseload on U.S. hospitals and helping to curb outbreaks in poorer countries with weak health care systems. It would also bolster the two-pronged approach to the pandemic: treatment, by the way of medication, and prevention, primarily through vaccinations.
The FDA will scrutinize company data on the safety and effectiveness of the drug, molnupiravir, before rendering a decision.
A Southern California beach that had been closed since an undersea pipeline leaked crude oil into ocean waters last week is set to reopen Monday, officials announced Sunday night.
City and state beaches in Huntington Beach will reopen after water quality tests revealed no detectable levels of oil associated toxins in the ocean water, the city of Huntington Beach and California State Parks said in a statement. Officials are still urging visitors to avoid areas that smell of oil and to avoid touching any oiled materials that wash ashore.
Huntington Beach and nearby coastal communities have been reeling from last week’s that officials said sent at least 25,000 gallons (95,000 liters) and no more than 132,000 gallons (500,000 liters) of oil into the ocean. It was caused by a leak about 5 miles (8 kilometers) off the coast in a pipeline owned by Houston-based Amplify Energy that shuttles crude from offshore oil platforms to the coast.
A shootout at a busy bar in St. Paul, Minnesota, early Sunday left a woman dead and 14 other people wounded, authorities said.
The shooting happened shortly after midnight at the Seventh Street Truck Park bar. Police said preliminary information indicated several people fired gunshots.
Police arrested three men who were being treated at a hospital for injuries from the shootout. All three will be booked into the Ramsey County jail once they are discharged, the St. Paul Police Department said in a statement on Twitter. They have not yet been charged.
Authorities were still investigating what led to the shootout.
Natalie Hoepner can be reached at hoep8497@stthomas.edu.