Pfizer’s Anti-COVID pill
What is the Pfizer Covid pill?
The Pfizer anti-COVID pill is also known as PAXLOVID. PAXLOVID is a combination medication composed of PF-07321332 and Ritonavir. PF-07321332 is a protease inhibitor which blocks the SARS-CoV-2-3CL protease, a key enzyme that is required for the coronavirus to replicate. The medication is a pill which is taken by mouth twice a day for five days.
How well does PAXLOVID work?
The full study is not available yet. However, based upon the numbers sited in the press release by Pfizer, the following two diagrams have been generated illustrating the effectiveness of PAXLOVID in non-hospitalized adults treated within three or five days after the onset of symptoms. When treated within three days after the onset of symptoms, the risk of hospitalization goes down by 89% versus 85% when treated within five days after the onset of symptoms. There was 100% efficacy in the prevention of death within the study.
What about the vaccinated?
The studies were conducted on patients who were not vaccinated and who had a high risk of progressing to severe disease after contracting the virus. There is no reason to think that patients who were vaccinated and contracted COVID-19 would not benefit from the treatment, especially if they are at high risk of progressing to severe disease.
How does PAXLOVID compare to Merck’s pill and to monoclonal antibodies?
Merck’s pill, molnupiravir, reduces hospitalization by about 50% when taken within five days of onset of symptoms. There was also a 100% efficacy of reducing death within the study like PAXLOVID. The monoclonal antibodies also known as Regeneron, reduce hospitalization by about 87% and were 100% effective in preventing death within the study.
What are the side effects?
The full study has yet to be published but the percentage of patients who quit the placebo or dummy pill was higher than the percentage of patients treated with the actual medication suggesting that the medication is very tolerable.