10-05-2023, 03:46 PM
(10-04-2023, 09:40 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: I was irritated seeing this headline. Which didn’t get much traction.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/25/merck-covid-drug-linked-to-virus-mutations-study-says-.html
Not only was it probably a lab leak. We also caused it to mutate with one of the treatments we were giving.
The common cold has turned in to the common Covid and is probably here to stay.
The study's authors stated there are increased mutations in the group treated with Lagevrio compared to the untreated group. Same thing can be said about antibiotics. There is an increased rate of MRSA in patients treated with amoxicillin compared to untreated patients.
The authors also stated the mutations reduce the viral load. That's how the medication works. It creates mutations which are incompatible with life for the virus.
The authors stated there is a potential for onward transmissions to other patients and is difficult to predict and could have a deleterious or neutral effect.
However, they never demonstrated any clinical effect on contagiousness or on morbidity and mortality.
Basically, they suggested this antiviral medication has the same potential risks as using antibiotics which can create mutations in bacteria.
We aren't going to stop using antibiotics. We just need to use them judiciously. (But, try telling that to a patient with a cold whose doctor always gives them a Z pack because it is easier to give them what they want rather than explain why they don't need it in the first place and they don't want the bad Yelp review.)
It is an area that will require further research.
