Carlos del Rio on Covid antivirals, an FDA conundrum, & the rise of Omicron

Will the first Covid-19 pill be all that useful? How worrisome is Omicron? And when will it be safe to congregate?

We cover all that and more this week on “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. First, STAT’s Matthew Herper joins us to talk about a tense debate among FDA advisers about molnupiravir, a Merck treatment for Covid-19 whose luster has faded over time. Then, we talk to Emory University’s Carlos del Rio about the potential of Pfizer’s antiviral pill, the future treatment landscape for Covid-19, and how the emerging Omicron variant might change the global pandemic response.

For more on what we cover, here’s the Merck news; here’s the latest on Omicron; here’s where you can subscribe to the First Opinion Podcast; and here’s our complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Be sure to sign up on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And if you have any feedback for us — topics to cover, guests to invite, vocal tics to cease — you can email [email protected].

Interested in sponsoring a future episode of “The Readout LOUD”? Email us at [email protected].