Dr. Ed calls Merck pill ‘game-changer’ if it receives approval

EAST TEXAS (KLTV/KTRE) - Dr. Ed Dominguez, an infectious disease specialist, joined East Texas Now to answer viewer questions about COVID-19.

Thursday, the FDA authorized booster shots of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The shots authorized will be half the dose of the original vaccine series.

Dr Ed explained why the Moderna boosters will only be half the original dosage, “If we only use a half dose, then there’s more vaccine eligible for the vaccine series that everybody wants which we know is pretty effective to begin with, maybe even a little more effective than the Pfizer vaccine and J&J in certain populations like transplant patients.”

Dr. Ed said if the Merck pill receives approval, it will be a much more efficient way to treat COVID-19 patients. “Is it a game-changer? Oh yeah. How many people, this way we don’t have to fill out a gazillion forms, make an appointment, have set times when people can come to get their infusion, sit there for an hour, get an IV and all the other things that go through it, this way we can treat people without having to do the majority of it.”

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