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Oct 4, 2021Liked by John Skylar, PhD

Hi, John.

FYI, your name came up at the Winnipeg in 2023 party at CapClave, as one of the organizers' personal virology expert.

As a nucleoside analog, I assume that molnupiravir will (like monoclonal antibodies) be useful mainly early in the course of disease, because once COVID-19 is severe the actual viral load is typically low and dropping. As I understand it, at that point you're dealing with the sequelae of the infection, especially the inflammatory response and collateral damage to otherwise-healthy tissues.

Merck has also said that the drug will be investigated for other RNA-viral diseases, which could be super-useful if it works.

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