The updated results of the Pfizer for the experimental treatment of Covid-19 showed that the pill reduces the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% if used by high-risk adults days after the first symptoms, according to a company statement released to the press on Tuesday (14).
Although CEO Albert Bourla called it a “watershed,” he warned that people shouldn’t see treatment as a substitute or alternative to getting away from the vaccine.
“I’m afraid some people think so. It’s a big mistake. At vaccines are required. The vaccine is the main frontier you must use to stop the disease,” he told CNN.
The goal is to prevent the disease, which is achieved with the vaccine, he warned.
“The focus is not getting sick. And to prevent your children from getting sick, to prevent you from getting sick and then passing it on to their mothers, to their fathers, it is very important that people take their doses,” he said.
“For the unfortunate who are sick, of course now, we have something that will save many lives.”
Pfizer hopes to eventually be able to offer the pills, under the name Paxlovid, for people to take at home before they develop enough symptoms to go to the hospital.
The company announced that it has shared the latest data with the regulatory agency Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of the ongoing application for authorization for emergency use.
No date has been set by the FDA’s advisory committee and it is expected to evaluate treatment soon.
Once Pfizer receives approval, Bourla says “tens of thousands” of pills for the drug could be made available immediately.
“In January, it goes to hundreds of thousands. And then February, March, we go to millions,” he told the CNN.
(Translated text. Read the original here)
Reference: CNN Brasil
