The United States on Wednesday authorized Pfizer Inc’s antiviral COVID-19 pill to people 12 and over susceptible to serious illness. It is the very first orally and home treatment, as well as an entirely new method to fight the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.
Pfizer’s antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, was nearly 90 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations as well as deaths among patients with a high risk of serious illnesses, according to results from the company’s clinical study.
Recent laboratory data suggest that it is still effective in fighting Omicron, Pfizer said.
Pfizer has increased its production forecasts to 120 million course of treatment from the previous 80 million and announced it was prepared to begin immediately distribution to the United States.
The two-drug treatment includes a brand new medication as well as an older antiviral known as the ritonavir.
The U.S. government will have 265,000 treatment courses on hand in January, and the supply will increase in the following weeks, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients told a briefing.
The government is expecting to get the 10 million courses they have ordered in six months.
“Paxlovid’s approval is a major milestone that marks another step towards making COVID-19 a much more manageable infection,” said Amesh Adalja who is a senior scholar of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Health Security.
“There are two key issues. However, that remains: It will be scarce in the coming weeks, and its optimal use requires prompt diagnosis, which can be difficult with the continual testing problems that plague us,” Adalja said.
Pfizer has announced that it has 180,000 treatment programs waiting to be shipped this year. It is the U.S. government’s contract for 10 million courses of the drug costs $530 for each course.
Its move of granting an emergency authorization of the therapy comes at the same time that the U.S. combats a surge in COVID-19-related cases triggered from the Omicron variant, as well as President Joe Biden declaring plans for the expansion of federal vaccination and testing facilities.
Eric is a professional news editor, writer, and blogger for the last 10 years. He is working with NewsGater as an off-beat news editor cum writer.