COVID-19 Pill

The antiviral pills must be taken within five days of COVID-19 symptoms starting, but patients in the Cleveland area have had some problems figuring out how to access them.

The medicine, called molnupiravir, is taken twice a day for five days and works by preventing the virus from replicating. Merck says it will have 10 million packs available by the end of the month.

The new at-home COVID treatment is currently available in limited quantities to states and territories. Some states will get as few as 120 courses of treatment at first.