On Friday, pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer announced that its antiviral Wuhan coronavirus pill cuts the risk of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk individuals by 89 percent.
In an analysis of study data, which began in July, 389 people who contracted COVID-19 and were considered “high risk of becoming severely ill” received the oral drug Paxlovid. The patients in this group had been experiencing COVID-19 symptoms for three days. They were given a regimen of three pills, twice per day to ward off the infection. Out of these recipients, 3 individuals were hospitalized but did not pass away. This amounts to .8 percent of the entire group.
In the placebo group, 385 patients were studied. A total of 27 hospitalizations and seven deaths were recorded in this group.
The study noted that similar outcomes in COVID-19 hospitalizations and death were observed in patients treated with the drug within five days of symptom onset. In this study, 607 patients were given Paxlovid. Six people (1 percent) were hospitalized within 28 days, but no deaths were recorded. Out of 612 people given placebos, 41 patients (6.7 percent) ended up hospitalized and 10 (1.6 percent) deaths were recorded.
“Today’s news is a real game-changer in the global efforts to halt the devastation of this pandemic. These data suggest that our oral antiviral candidate, if approved or authorized by regulatory authorities, has the potential to save patients’ lives, reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections, and eliminate up to nine out of ten hospitalizations,” Pfizer’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said in a statement. “Given the continued global impact of COVID-19, we have remained laser-focused on the science and fulfilling our responsibility to help healthcare systems and institutions around the world while ensuring equitable and broad access to people everywhere.”
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would allow mix-and-match COVID-19 booster shots for eligible individuals. Previously, President Biden received a Pfizer booster shot. This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signed off on a recommendation that a lower-dosage Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can be used on children ages 5 to 11.