The latest:
The European Union’s medicines agency on Monday began reviewing Merck’s COVID-19 treatment pill so that it can swiftly advise national drug authorities in the 27-nation bloc that want to begin using it before it gets official approval.
The European Medicines Agency said in a statement that it will give “EU-wide recommendations in the shortest possible timeframe to help national authorities decide on possible early use of the medicine, for example, in emergency use settings.”
The Amsterdam-based agency will give the recommendations while a comprehensive review of the pill, called molnupiravir, continues ahead of a possible application to market the drug.
Currently, most COVID-19 treatments require an IV or injection. Merck’s COVID-19 pill is already under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after showing strong initial results. On Thursday, the United Kingdom became the first country to OK it.
In the U.K., the pill was approved for adults 18 and older who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have at least one risk factor for developing severe disease, such as obesity or heart disease. Patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 would take four pills of the drug twice a day for five days.
In the United States, the FDA has set a public meeting later this month to review molnupiravir. The company reported in September that its drug slashed rates of hospitalization and death by 50 per cent.
Merck has also submitted data to Health Canada.
The drug targets an enzyme the coronavirus uses to reproduce itself, inserting errors into its genetic code that slow its ability to spread and take over human cells. That genetic activity has led some independent experts to question whether the drug could potentially cause mutations leading to birth defects or tumours.
-From The Associated Press, last updated at 12:40 p.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
What’s happening around the world
As of Monday afternoon, more than 250 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 tracker. The reported global death toll stood at more than five million.
In the Americas, the U.S. fully reopened its borders with Mexico and Canada on Monday and lifted restrictions on travel for most of Europe, setting the stage for emotional reunions nearly two years in the making and providing a boost for the travel industry decimated by the pandemic.
The restrictions, among the most severe in U.S. history, had kept families apart, including spouses who have not been able to hug in months, grandparents whose grandchildren doubled in age since they last saw them, and uncles and aunts who have not met nieces and nephews who are now toddlers.
Meanwhile, Costa Rican children aged five and up must get COVID-19 vaccinations, according to a new Health Ministry mandate, making the Central American country one of the first to adopt such a requirement for kids.
In Europe, Slovakia has expanded strict coronavirus restrictions to nearly half of the country amid a record surge of infections. Slovakia, which has a population of nearly 5.5 million people, is one of the countries in the European Union hardest hit by the pandemic. It has registered about 521,650 cases and 13,269 deaths.
Meanwhile, Greece reported a new record high for daily COVID-19 infections on Monday as vaccination appointments shot up after new restrictions on unvaccinated people kicked in over the weekend. Health authorities recorded more than 7,300 new infections since late Sunday — compared with the previous record of about 6,900 set Friday — amid a constant surge in cases that’s filling hospital intensive care units. Officials also registered 65 new deaths.
In Africa, health officials in South Africa reported 205 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and 13 additional deaths.
In the Middle East, Iran on Sunday reported 7,554 new cases of COVID-19 and 126 additional deaths.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Japan recorded no daily deaths from COVID-19 for the first time in more than a year on Sunday, according to local media.
Australia will begin administering booster shots of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Monday as millions in its largest city, Sydney, woke up to more freedom amid an accelerating immunization drive against the coronavirus.
–From Reuters, The Associated Press and CBC News, last updated at 3:35 p.m. ET
