The UK became the first in the world to approve the pill and is now ready to start dishing it out to the population through a large study.

       Around 10,000 people are expected to take the drug.

       Run by the University of Oxford, the study is set to begin recruiting participants early next month, giving the country key data on how well the drug, molnupiravir, works in vaccinated people.

       It will help the NHS plan how to roll out the antiviral treatments to the people who need them most,

       It will provide another string to the UK's bow in the fight against the virus.

       A statement from the health department said: “Molnupiravir is a ground-breaking treatment that will help the most vulnerable and we are working at pace across the Government and with the NHS to set out plans to deploy it to patients through a national study as soon as possible."

       It comes after the UK unveiled deals to secure both the Merck and Pfizer antivirals pills.

       Merck has today released updated data on the pill's efficiency in helping stop hospitalisations and deaths.

       New analysis says it cuts the risk by around 30 percent, down from the rough 50 percent announced in October.

       The updated rate on Friday is based on data from over 1,400 patients.

       Merck's shares fell three percent in premarket trading, amid a fall in the broader markets.

       The company said the data on the drug, developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, had been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ahead of a meeting of its expert advisers on Tuesday.

       Data last month showed that 7.3 percent of those given molnupiravir twice a day for five days were hospitalised and none had died by 29 days after the treatment.

       That compared with a hospitalization rate of 14.1 percent for placebo patients.

       In the updated data, 6.8 percent of those given molnupiravir were hospitalized and one person died, while the other placebo group had a hospitalization rate of 9.7 percent.

       The announcements comes as nations have slammed their borders shut after a new coronavirus variant was identified in South Africa earlier this week.

       The UK, Singapore and Japan are among those rushing in stricter quarantine measures and banning flights from South Africa and neighbouring countries.

       The EU is proposing to ban flights from the region across the whole bloc.

       Scientists still have much to learn about the variant, but say they are very worried about it.