Michigan residents who are dealing with a COVID-19 infection can now search for potential treatment options near them.

U.S. regulators have authorized a second pill against COVID-19, an antiviral drug from Merck that may help blunt the wave of infections driven by the omicron variant.

U.S. health advisers have endorsed an antiviral drug from Merck to treat COVID-19.

U.S. health officials say Merck's experimental COVID-19 pill is effective but they raised questions about its safety during pregnancy.

The European Medicines Agency says it has received a request from Merck to authorize its coronavirus antiviral, the first pill shown to treat COVID-19.

Britain has granted a conditional authorization to Merck’s coronavirus antiviral.

Pharmaceutical company Merck has agreed to allow other drug makers to make its COVID-19 treatment, the first pill that has been shown to be effective against the disease.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will ask its outside experts to review Merck's pill to treat COVID-19 at a meeting in late November.

Drugmaker Merck has asked U.S. regulators to authorize its promising antiviral pill against COVID-19, setting the stage for a decision within weeks.

Drugmaker Merck says its experimental COVID-19 pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half in people recently infected with the coronavirus.

Merck’s second-quarter profit dove 49%, mainly due to a big charge for an acquisition and a higher tax rate, though sales of its vaccines and medicines used in hospitals rebounded from the effects of the pandemic.

Merck is entering a new era, with sweeping changes across its executive suite and the spinoff off its women’s health and other businesses, a bid to enable both resulting companies to grow faster.

PONTIAC, Mich. – Oakland County announced on Wednesday that it has received 7,400 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. “With the news that Merck is going to be joining with Johnson & Johnson to manufacture this one dose vaccine, this increased supply of vaccine will help accelerate the end to the pandemic,” said Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter. The county health division will schedule the doses once it receives that guidance. READ: Michigan to expand COVID-19 vaccine plan to include residents age 50 and olderAdREAD: COVID vaccine trials underway in older children: What to knowJohnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses arrive at Oakland County Health Division Wednesday, March, 3, 2021. (Jaime Fenner, Oakland County)“I am confident in the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” Oakland County Health Division Medical Director Dr. Russell Faust said, mentioning that the vaccine is safe and effective.

States will also receive 2.8 million doses of the J&J shot this week. Psaki said the Biden administration was using its powers under the Defense Production Act to help Merck retool to work on the production. The J&J vaccine can be stored for months at refrigerated temperatures, rather than frozen. Now, with a global clamor for more vaccine doses, those heavyweights are helping manufacture doses for less-experienced rivals whose vaccines won the first emergency authorizations from regulators. Merck has since said it was in talks to help other drug companies with vaccine production, but wouldn’t say Tuesday whether other deals are imminent.

“Today (Tuesday), we are announcing that restaurants and bars can operate at 50% capacity. New bill would allow Michigan bars to stay open until 4 a.m. Bars in big cities like New York, Chicago and Miami can stay open until 4 a.m. and a new bill would put Michigan bars and restaurants in line with that. Michigan Rep. Ryan Berman said extending closing hours for many bars and restaurants will help restaurants make up for lost time after the pandemic. Merck to help manufacture Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccinePresident Joe Biden announced that pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. will help manufacture Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine.

DETROIT – President Joe Biden announced that pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. will help manufacture Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine. The arrangement comes after officials found out that Johnson & Johnson had fallen behind on production. Johnson & Johnson has pledged 16 million additional doses by the end of the month. READ: Michigan loosens COVID restrictions on restaurants -- here are all the detailsMichigan is also playing a role in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. READ: Grand Rapids-based Grand River Aseptic to help manufacture J&J vaccineAdQuestions about coronavirus?

“We’re now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May,” Biden said. The company has promised to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June. The J&J vaccine can be stored for months at refrigerated temperatures, rather than frozen, and doesn’t require patients to return for a second dose three or four weeks later. Merck has since said it was in talks to help other drug companies with vaccine production, but wouldn’t say Tuesday whether other deals are imminent. Ad__This story corrects that Biden said he wanted to get vaccine shots to teachers by the end of March, not May.

The administration is invoking the Defense Production Act, a wartime measure that gives the federal government authority to direct private companies to meet the needs of the national defense, to equip two Merck facilities to produce the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. AdBiden said Johnson & Johnson will operate 24/7 to produce the vaccine. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that teachers will receive doses of the newly approved one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, under a plan his administration will release. AdHe gave few details, but said he and a bipartisan legislative task force agreed that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should be set aside for teachers and then other workers considered to be essential, but who are not included in the first vaccination phase. States are receiving 2.8 million doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week.

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)KENILWORTH – Longtime Merck executive Ken Frazier, whose leadership helped bring the drugmaker one of the most lucrative medicines in history and who is one of the few remaining Black CEOs of a major corporation, is retiring. Frazier, Merck’s CEO since early 2011 and an advocate for minority advancement who took on then-President Trump’s tacit support of white supremacists, will retire on June 30. He is one of the few Black CEOs at the head of a Fortune 500 company. At Merck, Frazier clashed with then-President Donald Trump over his refusal to condemn violence by the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. Share prices have more than doubled, and revenue has nearly doubled, under Frazier as CEO.

The drugmaker will stop developing two potential COVID-19 vaccines after seeing poor results in early-stage studies. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)Merck is giving up on two potential COVID-19 vaccines following poor results in early-stage studies. The company said its potential vaccines were well tolerated by patients, but they generated an inferior immune system response compared with other vaccines. Merck was developing one of the potential vaccines with France’s Pasteur Institute based on an existing measles vaccine. Five potential vaccines have reached late-stage testing in the United States, the final phase before a drugmaker seeks approval from regulators.

KENILWORTH, N.J. – Merck & Co. is reporting third-quarter earnings of $2.94 billion on some very strong sales. That easily topped Wall Street expectations for earnings of $1.44 per share, according to a survey of analysts by Zacks Investment Research. Merck expects full-year earnings in the range of $5.91 to $6.01 per share, with revenue in the range of $47.6 billion to $48.6 billion. _____A portion of this story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MRK at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MRK

Unlike many rivals developing vaccines that will require two doses, Merck is aiming for one-dose vaccines. The company bought Austrian vaccine maker Themis Biosciences this year to gain rights to its experimental COVID-19 vaccine. Human testing on a second type of vaccine, being developed with an international nonprofit vaccine consortium, is expected to begin this year. In addition, Merck and partner Ridgeback Bio are developing a coronavirus treatment that was well tolerated by patients in early studies. Thats up from its April forecast of between $46.1 billion and $48.1 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $5.17 to $5.37.

This microscope image made available by the National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research in 2015 shows human colon cancer cells with the nuclei stained red. Carroll jumped at the chance to help test a newer drug taken as a daily pill, AstraZenecas Tagrisso. A big drawback: It and other newer drugs are extremely expensive $150,000 or more a year. PROSTATE CANCERMen with advanced prostate cancer often are treated with medicines to suppress male hormones that can help the cancer grow. After a year, 55% on Keytruda were alive without worsening cancer versus 37% on chemo.