The first pill to treat COVID has been approved in the UK today, in what is being termed a “historic” moment.
Designed to treat symptomatic COVID, the pill – called molnupiravir – will be given twice a day to high-risk patients that have recently been diagnosed with the virus.
Originally developed to treat flu, the pill has performed well in trials – cutting the risk of death or hospitalisation in half.
It can be taken at home, and is designed specifically to help those who are immunosuppressed and highly vulnerable to the illness – hopefully mitigating syptoms before illness progresses to hospitalisation stages.
It’s hoped by its developers Merck that the tablet will continue to be equally effective against future evolutions of Covid.
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The UK government has not revealed how much its contract with Merck is worth, but it is being reported elsewhere that the US has spent roughly $1.2 billion for 1.7 million courses.
The UK government, meanwhile, has ordered 480,000 courses for the end of the year.
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BREAKING NEWS: A #COVID19 antiviral that can be taken at home has been approved for use across the UK by @MHRAgovuk
Molnupiravir will soon be offered to patients in a national study to help protect those most at risk from the virus over the winter.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) November 4, 2021
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement: “Today is a historic day for our country, as the UK is now the first country in the world to approve an antiviral that can be taken at home for Covid.”
The tablet has been developed by the US drug companies Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD) and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
It targets an enzyme used by the virus to make copies of itself, and prevents it from multiplying by introducing errors into the genetic code.
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Merck chief executive June Raine described the new pill as “another therapeutic to add to our armoury against Covid-19”.
“It is the world’s first approved antiviral for this disease that can be taken by mouth rather than administered intravenously,” she said.
“This is important, because it means it can be administered outside of a hospital setting, before Covid-19 has progressed to a severe stage.”
Feature Image – Merck
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Appeal launched to find the owner of live chickens found at Creamfields festival
Daisy Jackson
The hunt is on to find the owner of a pair of chickens who were discovered at Creamfields festival.
The two birds were spotted on the grounds of the huge electronic music festival by bewildered festival-goers.
The cockerel and hen were trapped in a hedge, after it appears they wandered onto the festival campsite before the security barriers were installed.
The birds then found themselves trapped inside as around 70,000 music fans poured into Cheshire for a line-up that included Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure, and Tiësto.
The chickens have been safely rescued from the Creamfields festival site and are recovering at a wildlife centre, and now the RSPCA is on a mission to find their owner.
Festival-goers first called the RSPCA on Saturday 29 August to alert them to the cockerel and hen trapped inside the festival, one of whom assisted in the rescue mission.
RSPCA Inspector Leanne Cooper: “I was surprised that they were inside the festival site and I needed to get through the road blocks and security before reaching them on foot through muddy fields. I met the caller who helped me as they were just running up and down the hedge line where there was a wire fence blocking access.
Where the chickens were discovered at CreamfieldsThe RSPCA wants to track their owners down
“We managed to guide them out and I caught both of them with my rescue net which was a bit of a sight for the festival campers.
“I don’t think they were abandoned and they’re more likely to be stray because it’s farmland all around the festival site. They don’t have any health issues, apart from being quite underweight.
“With the fences going up a week before the festival starts they’d probably been unable to get out for some time and had been left foraging in the hedge. Someone mentioned that a third bird was also trapped, although we couldn’t find any others.
“I am really grateful to the festival-goer who found them and alerted us to their plight.”
Manchester Airport issues update for anyone flying today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has issued an update for anyone catching a flight today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday.
In case you hadn’t heard, hundreds of flights at several major UK airports – including Manchester Airport – were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday (8 September 2026), with the incident grounding planes and resulting in numerous cancellations.
According to Flightradar24, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, and many passengers were told to expect disruption for the rest of the day.
One of the worst-affected airlines was said to be Ryanair, with around 65,000 passengers affected by the cancellations and delays.
Manchester Airport issued its first statement addressing the matter at 3:15pm yesterday, stating: “We are aware of an issue affecting NATS’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.
“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”
Now, although the issue has been resolved, Manchester Airport has issued further statements informing anyone travelling today what they can expect.
The airport started off by saying that it is ‘operating as normal’ today, but that passengers are advised to ‘check with their airline for the latest information’.
The Manc -
4th November 2021 
