The United States reported more than 2,700 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday as the official U.S. pandemic death toll rapidly approached 700,000. Today the drug company Merck announced it’s seeking emergency use of its antiviral drug molnupiravir from the FDA and other regulators around the world, after a late-stage clinical trial showed it reduced the risk of hospitalization or death in COVID-19 patients by about half. If approved, the pill would be the first oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19.