NYT Quietly Reported That Miracle Covid Drug Can Mutate DNA, Cause Birth Defects And Male Infertility
According to a report by New York Times the new miracle drug by Merck could have some severe side effects. The FDA recently approved the drug molnupiravir because researchers claimed that it reduced hospital stays by 50% but even that claim has fallen short with some studies showing it's only about 30% accurate.
The kicker? The drugs, which has shown could cause major birth defects, male-infertility, and possibly cancer is still on the market. Worse, even the reports explaining the possible risks are being sidelined or poorly covered. The story by NYT included the risks as almost a cliffnote.
"A team of researchers at the University of North Carolina studied the use of molnupiravir in isolated hamster cells over 32 days and found that the drug did induce mutations in DNA.
Those mutations could “contribute to the development of cancer, or cause birth defects either in a developing fetus or through incorporation into sperm precursor cells,” the authors of that study wrote.
The drug targets only dividing cells, which are relatively sparse in an adult. That poses a narrower risk than other mutagens, like radiation, which can damage DNA in all types of cells.
Still, Ronald Swanstrom, an HIV researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who helped lead the hamster cell study, said that adults had enough dividing cells — in bones, for example, and in the lining of the gut — to cause concern. He also noted that men were constantly making dividing sperm cells that could carry potential mutations."
Oh, and it could affect men wanting to become fathers.
The FDA advisers also noted that the risks could extend to other patients, including men wanting to become fathers, though those risks remain poorly understood and Merck said its own studies had turned up no evidence that the drug causes DNA mutations.
Nothing to see here, just the New York Times casually mentioning that Merck’s new miracle COVID drug…
Might actually mutate healthy human DNA by accident. pic.twitter.com/WYVgKetOU2
— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) December 13, 2021
Molnupiravir works by entering the virues RNA and altering it. Basically causing mutations with the intention of preventing it from replicating. In tests involving both pregnant rats and rabbits it caused either bone mutations or delayed bone growth. There are also not studies showing the long term effects of using it.
William Haseltine, a virologist formerly at Harvard University known for his work on HIV and the human genome project, suggests that by inducing viral mutations, molnupiravir could spur the rise of new viral variants more dangerous than today’s. “You are putting a drug into circulation that is a potent mutagen at a time when we are deeply concerned about new variants,” says Haseltine, who outlined his concern Monday in a Forbes blog post. “I can’t imagine doing anything more dangerous.”