The FDA on Wednesday authorized the first Covid-19 antiviral pill for emergency use. The Pfizer drug, called Paxlovid, will be prescribed for use in adults and children over the age of 12 with mild to moderate sickness who are at risk for severe disease or hospitalization. The authorization marks “a major step forward,” director of […]
The FDA on Wednesday authorized the first Covid-19 antiviral pill for emergency use.
The Pfizer drug, called Paxlovid, will be prescribed for use in adults and children over the age of 12 with mild to moderate sickness who are at risk for severe disease or hospitalization.
The authorization marks “a major step forward,” director of the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni said in a statement.
“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,” she said.
As reported by NBC News, the Pfizer pill is not a replacement for vaccination, but instead adds an easily administered treatment to help keep those at high risk of severe illness out of the hospital.
Pfizer found its drug to be 89 percent effective at preventing high-risk individuals from hospitalization or death.
A full course of the treatment is 30 pills, taken as three pills twice a day for five days. It includes a low dose of ritonavir, a commonly used HIV drug, along with an antiviral developed by Pfizer called nirmatrelvir.
In order to be effective, the treatment needs to be taken within five days of first symptoms.
