Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pfizer's Antiviral Pill Works Against Omicron
Pfizer's COVID-19 treatment pill Paxlovid appears to be effective against the omicron variant, the company announced Tuesday. Pfizer said three separate lab studies showed nirmatrelvir, the drug's main protease inhibitor, maintains its effectiveness against the omicron variant of the virus. A protease inhibitor is a class of drugs that stop a virus from replicating. Patients take two tablets of nirmatrelvir with one tablet of another antiviral, called ritonavir, twice a day for five days. (Weixel, 1/18)
Simple, easy and effective COVID-fighting pills are arriving in California’s pharmacies, offering hope as cases soar and immunity falls.But the powerful new medicines – Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Merck’s molnupiravir – are in short supply, forcing physicians to make tough choices about who will most benefit from the treatment. There’s a second challenge: The pills must be taken within five days of the start of symptoms when the virus is still reproducing. That means it’s important to find a test, pronto. (Krieger, 1/16)
Canada’s health regulator has approved a pill by Pfizer that treats the effects of COVID-19. Health Canada authorized Paxlovid for adult patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 who are also at high risk of becoming more seriously ill. Health Canada did not authorize it for use on teenagers or on patients who are already hospitalized because of COVID-19. (1/17)
In news about monoclonal antibodies —
Analysis of data from 41 healthcare systems participating in the US National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network shows that monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were administered to Black, Asian, Hispanic, and other minority-race COVID-19 outpatients at lower rates than their White peers. (1/18)
A scarce monoclonal antibody for people who cannot build immunity from COVID-19 vaccines will be prioritized for distribution to Florida hospitals with large numbers of organ transplant and cancer patients, the Florida Department of Health said on Tuesday, signaling a change in strategy more than three weeks after the state passed over large medical centers and delivered the first shipment of the drug to a small clinic in Broward County. (Chang, 1/18)
