With the pandemic not taking the name to stop or eliminate, it has become difficult for the nations to fight against it. Learning from the previous years, the administration is now focusing on strengthening the major tools available to fight against the deadly virus. The new strain Omicron has now started to make people suffer more.
Now The United States Has 2 Antiviral Pills Authorized By The FDA
The demand for an alternate treatment was being raised by many medical experts in the United States. Many pharmaceutical companies came into the picture and developed antiviral pills.
There was a very strict competition between Pfizer and Merck’s antiviral pills. Although there was a difference in the opinion between the US FDA and President Joe Biden. The latter one was majorly in favor of Pfizer’s Paxlovid and the FDA was supporting Merck.
In the end, both company’s vaccines got authorization from the FDA but which one will be most preferable is again a big question.
After Paxlovid, The US Food And Drug Administration paved the way for the antiviral pill named molnupiravir to help to stay prevented and protected from the COVID-19. The pill is known to be effective in treating patients affected with mild to moderate levels of coronavirus disease. It shows positive results among those who are being affected by the infection.
When comparing both antiviral pills, Pfizer gained more marks than Merck. Paxlovid showed a positive rate of 90 percent and on the other hand molnupiravir;s effectiveness rate was 50 percent to cure the severe infection and reduce hospitalization and death rates in the US.
This is the second pill on the list to have got the approval from FDA to be used at home by people whenever they feel ill or are probably suffering from COVID-19. Merck company has developed the pill and is in an agreement with the US government to ensure 3.1 million courses of molnupiravir in the upcoming months.
Although the US President ordered enough antiviral pills from Pfizer to treat the 10 million American population. There will be a complete course to take the antiviral pills and the infected person has to consume 5-6 pills at least 2 times a day for consecutively 5 days.
At the end of the month of November, the pill had received a total of 13 votes in its favor to be used by the people.
These antiviral It is sufficient enough to treat the people who are on the verge of hospitalization. The citizens who are considered to be eligible for receiving this pill as treatment are those weighing around 88 pounds and aged 12 years or above.
These pills will only be available after a prescription from a doctor. The pill should be started consuming as soon as the diagnosis of COVID is done and within 5 days of the start of the symptoms.ṣ
