The media and social networks took this news with a bang, heralding almost the end of the pandemic and the replacement of vaccines with this drug. However, as molecular biologist and science journalist Irina Yakutenko claims in her video blog, this is not the case: “covid pills” are not a panacea and do not replace vaccination.
Firstly, it is very difficult to apply them on time (they are effective only in the first three days from the onset of the disease, and then their use becomes meaningless).
Secondly, after the covid they have cured, no immunity is formed, and you can get sick again at least every week.
Thirdly, they are expensive, and technologically much more expensive than vaccines (Novye Izvestia reported that the approximate cost of a course of treatment would be 50 thousand rubles)
This drug can be a great addition for already vaccinated risk groups, but nothing more. And it will be used, most likely, under medical supervision, so as not to produce resistant strains as a result of prematurely interrupted (when the patient claims that he “got better!”) Courses of treatment, as happened with antibiotics.
For more details on Irina Yakutenko's explanations, see this video.