The FDA Has Just Authorized The First Pill to Treat Covid-19

Some good news regarding the coronavirus, the first pill to treat the virus has just been approved.

Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, authorization of Pfizer’s antiviral pill named Paxlovid, combines ritonavir and a new antiviral drug named nirmatrelvir, is a go for treating Covid-19.

The first antiviral pill created for people who have fallen sick to Covid-19, allows individuals to take a small pill by mouth at home before they potentially get sick enough to be hospitalized.

High-risk individuals 12 and older who weigh at least 88 pounds and are positive for SARS-CoV-2 are eligible for the treatment which can be prescribed by a doctor.

Paxlovid “should be initiated as soon as possible after diagnosis of Covid-19 and within five days of symptom onset,” according to the FDA.

Three pills twice a day for five days is the prescription dosage.

According to Pfizer, the pills cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% when given to high-risk adults within the first few days of showing symptoms; the results were almost the same when given to individuals within the first five days of symptoms which showed an 88% efficacy.

The FDA has made sure to emphasize that the Paxlovid pill “is not a substitute for vaccination in individuals for whom COVID-19 vaccination and a booster dose are recommended.

So remember to get vaccinated, boosted, and to schedule those shots!