FDA Authorizes New COVID-19 Treatment, Pfizer Pill for At-Home Use in Major Advance

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a novel COVID-19 treatment from Pfizer on Wednesday, making it the first pill to treat the virus to hit the market.

The drug, known as Paxlovid, is being hailed as a huge breakthrough in the fight against the virus, with studies indicating that it lowered the chance of hospitalization or death in high-risk individuals by 89 percent.

Pfizer COVID-19 pill gets US authorization

However, the medication is projected to be in low supply at first, prompting demands that the Biden administration does more to increase availability.

Paxlovid's pill composition, as opposed to past injection-based treatments, should make it more accessible and easier to take. It has also shown encouraging results in studies in lowering the virus's worst effects, putting the country on the road to COVID-19 defanging.

However, experts caution that supply will be limited in the short term, and they have urged the Biden administration to take steps such as enlisting the cooperation of other producers.

According to the firm, around 180,000 courses will be accessible this year. That is insufficient, given that COVID-19 cases exceed 100,000 per day in the United States alone.

Per The Hill, the treatment must be started within five days after the commencement of symptoms, which may be difficult to do. Ample testing will be required to guarantee that people are aware that they have COVID-19 and that they may obtain findings in time to seek treatment.

Concerns about manufacturing Pfizer pills for low-income nations

Pfizer anticipates having 120 million courses accessible next year, with roughly 30 million available by the start of the year. Experts complimented the corporation for entering into a deal with the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool to share the medication with 95 low-income nations.

However, there is concern that manufacturing for lower-income nations might take months to begin, and some activists are warning of a discrepancy in vaccine production between affluent and poor countries.

A Pfizer representative told the Wall Street Journal that tens of thousands of the tablets will arrive in the US before the end of 2021, with hundreds of thousands more due at the start of 2022. According to the publication, the US government is paying Pfizer $5.3 billion for 10 million treatment sessions that will be provided by the end of next year.

Merck, another pharmaceutical company, claims to have created a medication that helps coronavirus sufferers avoid hospitalization and death. According to Bloomberg News, the FDA has not yet approved the pill, but it is likely to do so in the coming days.

The announcement comes as the Omicron coronavirus variety spreads across New York and the United States, causing disruptions to return-to-work and vacation plans. According to preliminary research, Omicron is more transmissible but less lethal than previous variants of the virus.