This ninth update of WHO’s guideline on therapeutics includes a recommendation that casirivimab-imdevimab not be used for patients infected with the Omicron variantWHO has updated its living guidelines on COVID-19 therapeutics to include a conditional recommendation on molnupiravir, a new antiviral medicine.
This is the first oral antiviral drug to be included in the treatment guidelines for COVID-19. As this is a new medicine, there is little safety data.
WHO recommends active monitoring for drug safety, along with other strategies to mitigate potential harms.Because of these concerns and data gaps, molnupiravir should be provided only to non-severe COVID-19 patients with the highest risk of hospitalization.
These are typically people who have not received a COVID-19 vaccination, older people, people with immunodeficiencies and people living with chronic diseases.