A pop-up testing stands on a New York City street. Pfizer released promising data about a pill.
Spencer Platt is a photographer.
The data released by Pfizer shows that the pill was effective in preventing hospitalization and death when taken by people with mild to moderate illness within a few days of first symptoms.
Paxlovid is taken twice a day for five days with ritonavir.
The study found that the drug reduced the risk of hospitalization or death for people at high risk of developing serious COVID-19 if they took it within three days of their first symptoms. The drug reduced the risk of death and hospitalization by 81% when taken for five days.
If 100,000 patients of this type were treated with Paxlovid, it would prevent more than 5,500 hospitalizations and save 1,100 lives.
The second study showed a 70% reduction in hospitalization risk among several hundred people at lower risk for severe disease.
The company looked at the effect of the drug on suppressing the amount of virus in the body and found it led to a 10-fold drop compared with a placebo. A reduction in viral load could help people.
Pfizer said that the reactions to drug and placebo were similar.
The results have been submitted to the FDA. Pfizer has a contract with the U.S. government to buy 10 million courses for $5.3 billion.
