A Pfizer employee checks the boxes of Paxlovid, COVID-19 treatment pills at a distribution facility in Memphis, Tennessee.
The U.S government has doubled its purchase of Pfizer's Covid-19 treatment pill as the nation faces an unprecedented surge of new infections caused by the highly contagious omicron variant.
The U.S. will purchase at least 20 million courses from Pfizer. The first 10 million treatment courses will be delivered in June instead of September, according to the White House.
Pfizer said in a statement that the remaining 10 million courses will be shipped by the end of September.
The White House said the pills take time to make and the US will get them as soon as they come off the production line. According to the White House, the U.S. will provide any resources, including using the Defense Production Act, to support Pfizer during the manufacturing process.
Biden is scheduled to meet with the White House Covid-19 response team Tuesday afternoon and will update the nation on his plan to fight omicron as it sweeps across the nation, driving new infections to a high.
According to data from the University, the U.S. recorded more than 1 million infections on Monday. A number of states did not publish new cases over the holiday weekend, which may have contributed to the record single-day total.
The seven-day average of new infections hit a record high of more than 480,000, nearly double the previous week, according to a CNBC analysis of the data.
Paxlovid was effective at preventing hospitalization and death from Covid in a study of more than 2,000 high risk adults.
The treatment was approved by the FDA in December for patients 12 and older with mild to moderate Covid who are at the highest risk of hospitalization or death. The treatment should be administered twice daily for five days.
Paxlovid consists of three pills, two tablets and a pill. ritonavir slows the patient's metabolism to allow Pfizer's pill to remain active in the body longer to fight the virus.
The treatment could help alleviate strain on health-care systems by keeping people out of hospitals as Covid cases continue to surge.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the number of Americans hospitalized with Covid-19 is up 32% from a week ago.
This report was contributed to by CNBC's Nathan Rattner.
