One more concerning excerpt from the USA Today story regarding Merck's covid pill:

Additionally, the FDA flagged a concern that Merck's drug led to small changes in the coronavirus' signature spike protein, which it uses to penetrate human cells. Theoretically, FDA cautioned, those changes could lead to dangerous new variants. Regulators also noted that Merck collected far less safety data overall on its drug than was gathered for other COVID-19 therapies.

How can they possibly allow a drug, not a cure mind you, just a drug to treat minor illness, that may create new variants?