The World's First COVID-19 Pill Just Got Approved In The UK & Here's How It Works

The U.K. has authorized the use of a pill to treat COVID-19.

The country approved a new drug from pharmaceutical company Merck known as molnupiravir on Thursday, making it the first antiviral COVID-19 treatment that you can take orally.

Health officials recommend taking the drug as soon as possible after testing positive for COVID-19, and within the first five days that a patient begins showing symptoms. They say it's meant to be an extra layer of protection against the disease, and it doesn't replace getting a vaccine.

"This will be a gamechanger for the most vulnerable and the immunosuppressed, who will soon be able to receive the ground-breaking treatment," U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement.

The drug will be branded Lagevrio in the U.K. and will be given to those with a higher risk of developing COVID-19 to start, so it's unclear when or if you'll be able to drop by the pharmacy and grab a bottle for yourself. Officials also didn't say exactly how many pills a person will need to take.

The most effective COVID-19 treatment so far has been monoclonal antibodies, but it can be expensive, hard to administer, and is typically used for people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed.

With the new COVID-19 pill, patients will be able to take their treatment at home.

Several drugmakers have been racing to come up with antiviral pills for COVID-19 over the last year, including Pfizer and Roche and Atea Pharmaceuticals. The pills are designed to mess up the way that COVID-19 spreads through the body after infection.

The coronavirus makes copies of itself, and those copies then spread throughout your system.

The molnupiravir drug messes with the process, so new copies of the virus come out essentially useless, slowing the virus' ability to spread.

"The virus essentially mutates itself to death," virologist Richard Plemper told Nature last month.

The U.K. is the first country to approve a drug of this kind, although U.S. officials are expected to vote on it later this month.

Health Canada has a robust website with all the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines and can answer any questions you may have.