Study Finds That Protection Against COVID-19 From 4th Shot Fades Quickly

The Israeli study comes after another that found a new anti-viral drug has been shown in early testing to eliminate COVID-19 infections in just a few days, the fastest so far identified.The drug, molnupiravir, “effectively neutralized infections of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing COVID) among a sample group by day three after starting therapy,” Study Finds reported. “Meanwhile, other COVID-19 patients taking a placebo took up to five days to make the same medical progress. For some patients in the control group, their recovery took even longer.”

“Molnupiravir is an oral antiviral prodrug that boasts broad activity against numerous coronaviruses. Prodrugs ‘switch on’ and become active once they enter the body. Importantly, the drug is active against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, including Delta and Omicron,” the website wrote.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already approved an emergency use authorization (EAU) request for molnupiravir, which is also in use in other countries, including Japan, Australia and Britain.

The findings came as part of what was called a “MOVe-OUT” trial, which was double blind and randomized, as well as being placebo-controlled. The researchers used PCR tests to measure the viral loads of SARS-CoV-2 in patients, then compared the results of using the drug versus those from patients given placebos.

“This analysis of the final virologic outcome data from MOVe-OUT confirms previous observations demonstrating that a 5-day treatment course of twice-daily 800 mg molnupiravir results in a more rapid decline in viral RNA and faster elimination of infectious virus than placebo,” Dr. Julie Strizki said in a media release. “This study provides additional evidence that molnupiravir helps those infected clear SARS-CoV-2 faster than placebo, and supports MOVe-OUT’s primary finding that molnupiravir can lower the risk of progression to serious illness in this high-risk cohort.”