The pharmaceutical giant Merck said Wednesday it will share the formula for its COVID-19 therapeutic drug molnupiravir with poor countries, allowing manufacturers to produce cheap, generic versions of the antiviral pill. Merck says the drug can cut the risk of hospitalization or death in half. The People’s Vaccine Alliance applauded the move, tweeting, “It’s positive that unlike the grotesquely unequal distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, poorest countries won’t have to wait at the back of the queue for molnupiravir. BUT middle-income countries shouldn’t still be locked out.”