Pfizer said Tuesday that clinical trials confirmed its Covid pill, a new type of antiviral treatment that should withstand the mutations seen with Omicron, drastically reduced hospitalizations and deaths among at-risk people by almost 90 percent. Overall, there were 12 deaths in the placebo group who did not receive the drug and none in the drug group. There were also encouraging results from a trial among people at standard risk of developing severe Covid, the company reported, but that study is ongoing. Another Covid pill, Merck’s molnupiravir, has already been authorized in Britain and is pending authorization in the United States. Pfizer said it had shared its pill data with the US Food and Drug Administration as part of its submission for an emergency use authorization.

Source: The Guardian December 14, 2021 15:55 UTC