Expert advisors to the Food and Drug Administration voted 13-10 in favor of the proposition that the benefits of Merck‘s Covid-19 antiviral molnupiravir outweighed its risks, effectively rubber-stamping the emergency-use authorization of the pill.

The FDA itself still needs to act on the recommendation, and will likely place significant limits on molnupiravir’s use. Committee members called for restrictions on the use of the pill in pregnant women due to concerns over the possibility that the drug could cause birth defects.

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