By Chinua Albert Okafor @TheRoboRai
In a move that gives doctors another weapon against COVID-19, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first antiviral pill to treat the illness on Wednesday. Pfizer's "Paxlovid" Coronavirus treatment lowers hospitalization and mortality rates for high-risk patients.
The drug is approved for people 12 and older who are at a high risk of serious illness if they contract the virus.
The treatment, known as Paxlovid, entails taking 30 pills over 5 days at home. It has to be started within a few days of symptoms - which may be challenging in the United States where many people may not be able to get a COVID-19 test, results, and a prescription during that time period.
When Paxlovid was given within three days of symptoms appearing, it cut the risk of hospitalization and death by 89 percent for adults with COVID-19 at high risk of developing severe disease.
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A second COVID-19 antiviral, molnupiravir, made by Merck, is also being reviewed by the FDA. It reduces COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths by 30 percent in a clinical trial, but not as effectively as Paxlovid. On Wednesday, France canceled its order for molnupiravir.
In contrast to monoclonal antibody treatments, which have been a primary treatment for people who contract COVID-19, pills are more cost-effective and easier to administer. In addition, pills may remain effective against the omicron variant of the coronavirus as well as against other variants, such as delta. They target proteins that are necessary for the coronavirus to replicate itself, and the newly discovered variant has relatively few mutations to that part of the virus. Antibodies that target monoclonal antibodies seem ineffective against the omicron variant.
