The White House continues efforts to make these medications more widely available, as a new study shows that Paxlovid and molnupiravir seem to guard against hospitalizations and death when people aren't experiencing severe symptoms.
The tablets of Paxlovid are displayed.
There were fewer admissions to the hospital for patients who took Paxlovid than for those who took placebos.
According to those figures, both pills, which were authorized by the FDA for emergency use authorization last year for some with mild to moderate coronaviruses infections at risk of developing severe Covid, reduce the risk of hospitalization and death in patients with mild coronaviruses infections.
Researchers concluded that both treatments probably reduced deaths in people with mild cases.
The first Covid treatment approved by the FDA for those 12 and older may reduce the risk of hospitalization in non-severe cases but likely doesn't prevent deaths.
According to study co-author Tyler Pitre, antiviral drugs may be most useful for people with non-severe cases.
In the US and around the world, covid cases and hospitalizations are on the rise. The number of new infections in the US increased from a low in April to a high in July. In the week ending July 19 there were 6,000 new hospital admissions, compared to an average of 1,428 per day in April.
According to researchers, most research has focused on how Covid treatments combat severe illness in patients who have been hospitalized, and no studies have analyzed the evidence on oral antiviral treatments effectiveness against non-severe Covid. In high-risk cases, the pill from Pfizer is authorized for those 12 years and older, while the one from Merck is only for adults. The White House is trying to make it easier for Americans to get Pfizer's oral pill Paxlovid. 20 million courses of the treatment will be bought by the Biden administration. People can get a coronaviruses test and oral antiviral pills in one visit. After the program received some criticism from experts who argued it had not improved access to the pills, the FDA earlier this month authorized pharmacist to prescribe Paxlovid to coronaviruses patients 12 years and older who are at a high risk of developing severe Covid. The pharmacists were pushing for this authority.
According to the White House, President Joe Biden is taking Paxlovid because he is at a higher risk of developing a serious illness because of his age.
According to the FDA, pharmacists can prescribe Pfizer's anti-viral Paxlovid.
Pfizer will spend 120 million dollars to boost Paxlovid production.
Live updates on the coronaviruses.
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