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The World Health Organization (WHO) has conditionally recommended the anti-viral drug molnupiravir for patients with non-severe Covid-19 who are at highest risk of hospitalisation.
This includes people who are particularly vulnerable to the virus, such as the unvaccinated, older people and those with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses.
The WHO does not recommend young, healthy patients are given the drug due to the potential harms it can cause.
Molnupiravir reduces hospital admission and speeds up symptom resolution
The recommendation is based on new data from nearly 5,000 patients who took part in six randomised controlled trials.
The findings suggest that molnupiravir reduces hospital admission (43 fewer admissions per 1,000 high-risk patients) and improves time to symptom resolution by an average of 3.4 days.
There is some evidence to suggest the drug has a small effect on mortality rates, with six fewer deaths per 1,000 patients compared to the control group.
The panel also recommends a treatment combining two antibodies (casirivimab and imdevimab) to be used in people who are confirmed not to have the Omicron variant, as new evidence demonstrates a lack of effectiveness against other variants.
They make no recommendation for patients with severe or critical illness as there are no trial data on molnupiravir for this population.
Access for low and middle income countries could be more challenging
The new recommendation is part of a living guideline which works to provide trustworthy guidance on the management of Covid-19 and help doctors make better decisions with their patients.
However, the WHO acknowledge that cost and availability issues associated with the drug may make access for low and middle income countries challenging, which could exacerbate health inequalities.