Pfizer’s COVID-19 anti-viral treatment Paxlovid.Photo: Pfizer/AFP via Getty
TheFood and Drug Administration approvedtwo pills designed to treat COVID-19 at home on Wednesday and Thursday as hospitals struggle with a flood of new patients and thehighly contagious omicron variant spreads throughout the United States.
“This breakthrough therapy, which has been shown to significantly reduce hospitalizations and deaths and can be taken at home, will change the way we treat COVID-19, and hopefully help reduce some of the significant pressures facing our healthcare and hospital systems,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourlasaid in a statement.
“Today’s authorization introduces the first treatment for COVID-19 that is in the form of a pill that is taken orally — a major step forward in the fight against this global pandemic,” said Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “This authorization provides a new tool to combat COVID-19 at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge and promises to make antiviral treatment more accessible to patients who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19.”
Paxlovid is an anti-viral pill, and each pack contains 30 tablets taken over five days. For the full effect, patients need to start taking them within five days of the start of their symptoms.
And on Thursday, the FDA authorized a second pill from Merck for use in high-risk adults. Patients take 8 of the pills, called molnupiravir, a day for five days. The FDA said though that it should not be prioritized for treatment as it is not as effective as the Pfizer pill, and only prevents hospitalization or death in 30% of cases.
Molnupiravir.HANDOUT/Merck & Co,Inc./AFP via Getty
“Today’s authorization provides an additional treatment option against the COVID-19 virus in the form of a pill that can be taken orally,“Cavazzoni said. “Molnupiravir is limited to situations where other FDA-authorized treatments for COVID-19 are inaccessible or are not clinically appropriate and will be a useful treatment option for some patients with COVID-19 at high risk of hospitalization or death.”
RELATED VIDEO: NHL Postpones Season Through Christmas Day as COVID-19 Cases Rise
The FDA’s authorization comes at a critical time in the U.S. —hospitals nationwide are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patientsand theomicron variant is spreading rapidly. Paxlovid allows people to treat the virus at home and hopefully avoid the hospital.
“Pfizer stands ready to begin delivery in the U.S. immediately to help get Paxlovid into the hands of appropriate patients as quickly as possible,” Bourla said.
The U.S. is currently seeing some of the highest numbers of new COVID-19 infections of the entire pandemic. On Dec. 22, there were at least 242,794 new cases, and 70,031 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19,according toThe New York Times.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources fromCDC,WHO, andlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
