NEW YORK - U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the use of Pfizer’s antiviral pill, the first COVID-19treatment that Americans can pick up at a pharmacy and take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus.The drug, Paxlovid, is a faster, cheaper way to treat early COVID-19 infections, though initial supplies will be extremely limited.
All of the previously authorized drugs against the disease require an IV or an injection.An antiviral pill from Merck is also expected to win authorization soon.
But Pfizer's drug is all but certain to be the preferred option because of its mild side effects and superior effectiveness, including a nearly 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe.