Pfizer Applies for Emergency-Use Authorization of Effective New anti-Viral Drug to Treat COVID

By Yehudit Garmaise

One year after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use and vaccines were made widely available nationwide, COVID cases are on the rise, and medication is, sadly, still needed to treat COVID patients, who are mostly, unvaccinated.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today that hospital rates in New York state have increased by 70%, just since Thanksgiving: a surge that requires antiviral medication to treat patients who become infected with COVID.

Coming to the rescue once again, Pfizer just announced that it created a new antiviral pill, called Paxlovid, that can provide effective treatment for COVID that can be used at home, as current treatments are now available only by injection or IV in hospitals and clinics.

After conducting clinical trials that confirm that Paxlovid “is 89% effective at preventing hospitalization and death from infection with COVID-19, the pharmaceutical company requested emergency-use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has not yet scheduled a meeting of its advisory committee to review the new drug’s application.

Pfizer says early results from its lab tests show that Paxlovid will likely remain effective against all COVID variants, including Omicron: although more research is needed to confirm that claim.

"Emerging variants of concern, like Omicron, have exacerbated the need for accessible treatment options for those who contract the virus, and we are confident that, if authorized or approved, this potential treatment could be a critical tool to help quell the pandemic," said Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla, who called the treatment a "game-changer" and said that Paxlovid could be available this month if the FDA provides emergency authorization. 

Photo: Flickr