Topline
The federal government doubled its order of Pfizer’s Covid-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid to 20 million treatment courses, the company announced Tuesday, after hospitals ran low on the drug that was hailed as a game-changer when authorized in December.
Pfizer headquarters in New York City.
Key Facts
The 20 million Paxlovid courses, or 600 million total pills, will be delivered to the federal government in 2022, with about 10 million courses due for an accelerated delivery by the end of June and the rest set to arrive by late September, Pfizer announced.
Though White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci described the authorization of oral Covid-19 treatments like Paxlovid and Merck’s molnupiravir as a “very important step” in ending the pandemic, hospitals and pharmacies in Michigan, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island are reportedly running low on the drugs.
Covid-19 antiviral pills have been distributed according to a population-based formula, though Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) complained Sunday that New York, which is undergoing an infection surge not accounted for by the formula, had not received sufficient doses.
Most of the antiviral pills distributed to Maryland have not yet arrived due to shipping delays, state health officials told the Washington Post Monday.
The active ingredient in Paxlovid requires six to eight months to produce, and the sharp disparity between supply and demand has made the treatment “a drop in the bucket in the short term,” University of Minnesota infectious disease researcher David Boulware told The Hill last month.
Key Background
At-home treatments are in steep demand as the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus has grown to account for 95.4% of U.S. cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Paxlovid received emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on December 22 for use by high-risk patients ages 12 and older who weigh at least 88 pounds. Each treatment course requires the patient to take 30 pills over five days. Clinical trials show the drug to be about 89% effective at preventing hospitalization or death among high-risk patients. Pfizer’s Paxlovid has proven more effective than Merck’s molnupiravir in clinical trials, though the federal government has also ordered about 3.1 million doses of molnupiravir.
Contra
Vaccines remain the most effective way to prevent severe infection or death for most people, Houston Medical Director of Pharmacy Services Alex Varkey told the Washington Post. “We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that covid vaccines are readily accessible and available,” Varkey said.
Tangent
Paxlovid may be rendered ineffective if taken with the herbal treatment St. John’s Wort, Pfizer warned.
Further Reading
“Biden administration to double purchase of Pfizer’s COVID antiviral pill to 20M treatment courses” (Fox News)
“Doctors bemoan limited supply of game-changing antiviral pills amid winter surge” (Washington Post)
“U.S. Has Secured ‘Millions’ Of Pfizer Antiviral Pills, President Biden Says” (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharysmith/2022/01/04/biden-administration-doubles-orders-for-pfizers-anti-covid-pill-as-hospitals-run-short/