Free Republic

Paxlovid According to a statement by the company, Pfizer has stopped COVID pill trial after the latest results showed that it did not reduce symptoms, hospitalizations and deaths. Pfizer has stated it will halt participation in a clinical trial for Paxlovid, its COVID-19 antiviral medication, for standard-risk COVID-19 patients after the most recent findings revealed the medication did not numerically greatly lower symptoms, hospitalizations, or fatalities. In more than 65 nations, including the United States, Paxlovid, a combination of the antivirals nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, is presently approved or authorized for conditional or emergency use in the treatment of COVID-19...

New York and Minnesota among states prioritizing race in COVID treatment distribution Guidance issued by the Biden administration states certain individuals may be considered "high risk" and more quickly qualify for monoclonal antibodies and oral antivirals used to treat COVID-19 based on their "race or ethnicity." In a fact sheet issued for healthcare providers by the Food and Drug Administration, the federal agency approved emergency use authorizations of sotrovimab – a monoclonal antibody proven to be effective against the Omicron variant – only to patients considered "high risk." The guidance, updated in December 2021, says "medical conditions or factors" such...

A cheap antidepressant reduced the need for hospitalization among high-risk adults with COVID-19 in a study hunting for existing drugs that could be repurposed to treat coronavirus. Researchers tested the pill used for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder because it was known to reduce inflammation and looked promising in smaller studies. They've shared the results with the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which publishes treatment guidelines, and they hope for a World Health Organization recommendation. The pill, called fluvoxamine, would cost $4 for a course of COVID-19 treatment. By comparison, antibody IV treatments cost about $2,000 and Merck's experimental antiviral pill...