--- title: The first FDA-approved oral antiviral COVID treatment description: Although massive COVID 19 vaccination efforts have reduced infections and deaths, the pandemic continues to impact our daily lives. The FDA is trying to... image: https://blog.acutis.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/6f340a_b52ad6cd0135444184c583e21e1b2f90~mv2.jpeg --- [Skip to content](https://blog.acutis.com/post/the-first-fda-approved-oral-antiviral-covid-treatment#main-content) Close - About - [What is Acutis?](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/what-is-acutis) - [Our Team](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/we-are-acutis) - [Guiding Principles](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/guiding-principles) - [Compliance](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/en/compliance) - [Accreditations](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/accreditations) - [Careers](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/careers) - [Continuing Education](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/webinars-symposium) - Providers - [Infectious Diseases](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/molecular-tests-infectious-disease) - [Respiratory Pathogen Testing](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/rit-testing-respiratory-pathogen-tests) - [Gastrointestinal Pathogen Testing](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/git-testing-gastrointestinal-pathogens-testing) - [Urinary Tract Infection Testing](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/urinary-tract-infection-testing) - [Sexually Transmitted Infections](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/sti-testing) - [Pharyngeal Testing](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/pit-testing-strep-a) - [Clinical Toxicology](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/clinical-toxicology) - [Medication Monitoring](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/medication-monitoring-tests) - [Substance Use & Addiction](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/substance-use-and-addiction) - Patients - [Make a Payment](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/make-a-payment-as-patient) - [Financial Assistance](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/patient-financial-assistance) - [FAQs](https://info.acutis.com/patient-faqs) - [Insights](https://blog.acutis.com) - [Contact](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/contact) CONTACT PHONE HOTLINE: [844-522-8847](tel:+1844-522-8847)E-MAIL: [service@acutis.com](mailto:service@acutis.com) [i-Acutis](https://acutis.careevolve.com/doctors/framepage.asp) [![logo](https://blog.acutis.com/hubfs/logo-Acutis%20HD-2.webp "logo")](https://www.acutis.com/) - About - [What is Acutis?](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/what-is-acutis) - [Our Team](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/we-are-acutis) - [Guiding Principles](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/guiding-principles) - [Compliance](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/en/compliance) - [Accreditations](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/accreditations) - [Careers](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/careers) - [Continuing Education](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/webinars-symposium) - Providers - [Infectious Diseases](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/molecular-tests-infectious-disease) - [Respiratory Pathogen Testing](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/rit-testing-respiratory-pathogen-tests) - [Gastrointestinal Pathogen Testing](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/git-testing-gastrointestinal-pathogens-testing) - [Urinary Tract Infection Testing](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/urinary-tract-infection-testing) - [Sexually Transmitted Infections](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/sti-testing) - [Pharyngeal Testing](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/pit-testing-strep-a) - [Clinical Toxicology](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/clinical-toxicology) - [Medication Monitoring](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/medication-monitoring-tests) - [Substance Use & Addiction](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/substance-use-and-addiction) - Patients - [Make a Payment](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/make-a-payment-as-patient) - [Financial Assistance](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/patient-financial-assistance) - [FAQs](https://info.acutis.com/patient-faqs) - [Insights](https://blog.acutis.com) - [Contact](https://acutis-21140295.hs-sites.com/contact) PHONE HOTLINE: [844-522-8847](tel:+1844-522-8847)E-MAIL: [service@acutis.com](mailto:service@acutis.com) [i-Acutis](https://acutis.careevolve.com/doctors/framepage.asp) ![COVID pcr testing ](https://blog.acutis.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/6f340a_b52ad6cd0135444184c583e21e1b2f90~mv2.jpeg?width=300&name=6f340a_b52ad6cd0135444184c583e21e1b2f90~mv2.jpeg) [Acutis](https://blog.acutis.com/author/acutis)Nov 24, 2021 12:00:00 AM< 1 min read # The first FDA-approved oral antiviral COVID treatment [Previous](https://blog.acutis.com/post/acutis-recognized-at-ncida-back-to-business-networking-breakfast) [Next](https://blog.acutis.com/post/omicron-the-heavily-mutated-covid-19-variant) ![](https://blog.acutis.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/6f340a_b52ad6cd0135444184c583e21e1b2f90~mv2-1.jpeg) Although massive [**COVID-19**](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html) vaccination efforts have reduced infections and deaths, the pandemic continues to impact our daily lives. Several breakthrough infections, and even some deaths, among fully vaccinated individuals, are especially concerning. Scientists realized the possibility of breakthrough infections and the need for successful treatment in addition to prophylaxis, resulting in almost a dozen therapeutic agents in development. But despite the tremendous need, there hadn't been a single oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 and just a few authorized drugs that need intravenous administration. Now [**FDA**](https://www.fda.gov/)-approved, [**Merck’s**](https://www.merck.com/)pill – ‘[**Molnupiravir**](https://www.merck.com/news/merck-and-ridgebacks-investigational-oral-antiviral-molnupiravir-reduced-the-risk-of-hospitalization-or-death-by-approximately-50-percent-compared-to-placebo-for-patients-with-mild-or-moderat/)’ – became the [first oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02783-1) that forces the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to mutate itself to death. Molnupiravir is a nucleoside analogue that mimics some of the building blocks of RNA. It gets incorporated into growing RNA strands and initiates the conformational change causing a point mutation, and the accumulation of several such mutations leads to lethal mutation, causing the viral population to collapse. Scientists believe that such an effective oral antiviral could be an incredible asset in our fight against COVID-19. ![avatar](https://blog.acutis.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Sales%20materials%202023/Brand/logo-acutis%20HD-2022-1.png?width=290&name=logo-acutis%20HD-2022-1.png) #### [Acutis](https://blog.acutis.com/author/acutis) Our team of scientific experts is here to help you understand the trends in infectious disease, clinical toxicology, and Biosciences that are happening in the world. 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Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.© 2026 Acutis Diagnostics ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "Organization", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "", "addressLocality" : "Hicksville", "addressRegion" : "NY", "postalCode" : "11801", "streetAddress" : "400 Karin Lane" }, "email" : "service@acutis.com", "knowsLanguage" : "en", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent40.net/hubfs/21140295/logo-Acutis%20HD-2.webp" }, "name" : "Acutis Diagnostics Inc.", "telephone" : "844-522-8847", "url" : "https://blog.acutis.com/post/the-first-fda-approved-oral-antiviral-covid-treatment" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "abstract" : "Although massive COVID 19 vaccination efforts have reduced infections and deaths, the pandemic continues to impact our daily lives. The FDA is trying to...", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Acutis" }, "dateModified" : "April 26, 2024 5 PM", "datePublished" : "November 24, 2021 5 AM", "headline" : "The first FDA-approved oral antiviral COVID treatment", "image" : "https://info.acutis.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/6f340a_b52ad6cd0135444184c583e21e1b2f90~mv2.jpeg", "inLanguage" : "en", "keywords" : "[NEWS]", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@type" : "WebPage" }, "name" : "The first FDA-approved oral antiviral COVID treatment", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent40.net/hubfs/21140295/logo-Acutis%20HD-2.webp" }, "name" : "Acutis Diagnostics Inc." }, "text" : "Although massive COVID-19 vaccination efforts have reduced infections and deaths, the pandemic continues to impact our daily lives. Several breakthrough infections, and even some deaths, among fully vaccinated individuals, are especially concerning. Scientists realized the possibility of breakthrough infections and the need for successful treatment in addition to prophylaxis, resulting in almost a dozen therapeutic agents in development. But despite the tremendous need, there hadn't been a single oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 and just a few authorized drugs that need intravenous administration. Now FDA-approved, Merck’s pill – ‘Molnupiravir’ – became the first oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 that forces the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to mutate itself to death. Molnupiravir is a nucleoside analogue that mimics some of the building blocks of RNA. It gets incorporated into growing RNA strands and initiates the conformational change causing a point mutation, and the accumulation of several such mutations leads to lethal mutation, causing the viral population to collapse. Scientists believe that such an effective oral antiviral could be an incredible asset in our fight against COVID-19.", "url" : "https://blog.acutis.com/post/the-first-fda-approved-oral-antiviral-covid-treatment", "wordCount" : "598" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Acutis", "url" : "https://blog.acutis.com/author/acutis" }, "dateModified" : "2024-04-26T17:58:12.793Z", "datePublished" : "2021-11-24T05:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "The first FDA-approved oral antiviral COVID treatment", "image" : [ "https://blog.acutis.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/6f340a_b52ad6cd0135444184c583e21e1b2f90~mv2.jpeg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.acutis.com/post/the-first-fda-approved-oral-antiviral-covid-treatment", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.acutis.com/hubfs/logo-Acutis%20HD-2.webp" }, "name" : "Acutis Diagnostics Inc. | Acutis Biosciences" } } ```