Health
Covid-19 Antiviral Pill Passes FDA Approval For Treatment
First American News LLC, Raleigh, NC: The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized the first oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19: Paxlovid, a pill made by Pfizer. This is the first antiviral Covid-19 pill authorized for ill people to take at home before they get sick enough to be hospitalized.
Paxlovid combines a new antiviral drug named nirmatrelvir and an older one called ritonavir. Last week, Pfizer released updated results that showed the treatment cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% if given to high-risk adults within a few days of their first symptoms. If given within the first five days of symptoms, the efficacy was similar: 88%.
“Today’s authorization of PAXLOVID represents another tremendous example of how science will help us ultimately defeat this pandemic, which, even two years in, continues to disrupt and devastate lives across the world.
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 Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. “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.” Click here to continue reading on the Covid-19 pill and its developments at The Wall Street Journal.
