[ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 pill for high-risk people 12 years of age and older.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“Today’s authorization introduces the first treatment for COVID-19 in the form of an oral pill – a major step forward in the fight against this global pandemic,” said FDA scientist Patrizia Cavazzoni.<\/p>\n
Pfizer treatment, called Paxlovid, is a combination of two pills taken over five days that was demonstrated in a clinical trial of 2200 people that it was safe and reduced the risk of hospitalization and death in at-risk people by 88 percent. .<\/p>\n
In an unusual move, the FDA did not convene its regular panel of independent experts to scrutinize data about the Pfizer pill prior to authorization.<\/p>\n
Pfizer treatment has previously been authorized in the European Union.<\/p>\n
The authorization comes as cases are growing across the United States dominated by Omicron, the most infectious variant of the first coronavirus to date.<\/p>\n
The multi-mutation variant is better able to bypass the immunity granted by the previous infection, and health authorities are urging the public to receive booster vaccines in order to restore a higher degree of protection.<\/p>\n
Unlike vaccines, the pill does not target the ever-evolving coronavirus protein, which it uses to invade cells. In theory, it should be immune to variants, and Pfizer has said that previous studies have supported this hypothesis.<\/p>\n
Authorization is still pending for another COVID-19 pill, developed by Merck, which is also taken over five days and has been shown to reduce the same outcomes (hospitalization and death) by 30 percent in high-risk people.<\/p>\n
Independent experts voted in favor of this treatment by a narrow margin, but expressed concerns about its safety, such as possible damage to the fetus and possible damage to DNA.<\/p>\n
Both treatments work in different ways within the body and the Pfizer pill is not thought to have the same level of concern.<\/p>\n
Merck’s treatment has received the green light from Britain and Denmark.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n top channel
\n<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n