COVID-19 pills are on the way. Here's what you need to know.

A logo on a sign.
A Merck sign stands in front of the company's building in October 2013 in Summit, N.J. The FDA and CDC are expected to soon greenlight new antiviral pills — molnupiravir from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Paxlovid from Pfizer — that could minimize the impact of infection in COVID-19 patients.
Kena Betancur | Getty Images 2013

Minnesota’s fourth wave of COVID-19 infections started in July and has never really abated. Infection numbers are encouraging at the moment, but hospitalizations and deaths remain near all-time highs, and the newly discovered omicron variant has entered the mix.

But there is some good news: The FDA and CDC are expected to soon greenlight new antiviral pills — molnupiravir from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Paxlovid from Pfizer — that could minimize the impact of infection in COVID-19 patients.

Dr. David Boulware is a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine at the University of Minnesota. He joined host Cathy Wurzer to share what listeners should know about the new drugs.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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