According to the Bloomberg News report on Tuesday, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set to approve Coronavirus treatments pills from Merck and Pfizer as soon as Wednesday. Both drugs, especially Paxlovid (Pfizer’s pill), are seen as vowing new oral treatments that can be administered upon onset of COVID-19 symptoms at home to help prevent virus hospitalizations and deaths.
SCOOP: The FDA is set to authorize the Covid-19 treatment pills from *both* Pfizer and Merck. An announcement is expected this week. It would open up two significant treatment options for severe cases. A big milestone.
With @JenniferJJacobs and @RobertLangreth on @TheTerminal.
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) December 21, 2021
It is a milestone in the fight against the deadly pandemic that will soon expand treatments for the illness. According to three persons familiar with the news, FDA will announce the authorization news this week. They requested to stay anonymous before the authorization announcement and signaled that the plan could change. Molnupiravir of Merck and Paxlovid of Pfizer aimed at higher-risk individuals who test positive for the COVID-19.
How to take these antiviral pills?
Patients will take a series of pills at home over many days, and as a result, it could ease the pressure on overwhelmed hospitals with surged Coronavirus infections through the winter in the United States. Furthermore, the molnupiravir pill developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics methodology and promised to cut hospitalizations and deaths by about thirty percent in a clinical trial of the trial of high-risk people early in the course of infection.
A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Authority approved with a narrow vote margin on 30th November. On the other hand, Paxlovid revealed almost ninety percent efficacy in preventing high-risk patients from hospitalizations and deaths. The FDA denied responding to the request for comment. The pill will administer to the patient as early as possible following a positive Coronavirus test and within five days of initial symptoms.
Britain Became the First Nation to Approve Merck Pill
In November, Britain became the first nation globally to authorize Merck antiviral pill for use in individuals with moderate and mild Coronavirus and those with at least one risk factor for developing severe illness or hospitalizations. In addition, U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved the molnupiravir pill for use in individuals with mild to moderate infection.
Britain has around forty thousand daily cases of Coronavirus. That is the second only to approximately seventy-four thousand per day in the U.S., five times more patients. Last November’s statistics revealed that Coronavirus prevalence in England hit its peak level in October. As a result, pressure is rising on the U.K. government to execute its Plan B to protect the National Health Service (NHS) from unsustainable demands, involving face mask mandates, work-from-home orders, and vaccine approvals.
Omicron Forced New Restrictions Globally
Singapore postponed quarantine-free travel for all travelers, an Australia renewed its Coronavirus vaccination on Wednesday as mounting new cases of the Omicron variant some days before Christmas forced officials to enforce new curbs and accelerate booster doses. In addition, governments across the world tightened mobility restrictions upward and made urgent requests for residents to vaccinate as Omicron emerges as the dominant variant of the virus, overturning reopening plans that several hoped would announce the start of a post-Coronavirus era in 2022.
On Tuesday, the United States President Joe Biden vowed half a billion free quick Coronavirus tests and warned the quarter of U.S. adults who received complete vaccination that their choices could lead to the difference between life and death. In response to the rise in new cases, nations are also looking to shorten the time between second dose and booster shots.
Scott Morrison, the Australian Prime Minister, announced Wednesday that new vaccination funding for pharmacies and clinics. Scott also urged the states of the country to reopen a significant number of vaccination hubs to speed up booster doses rollout. Previously, they were shut down when double-shot rates in adults surpassed eighty percent. The Australian state and federal leaders held an emergency meeting of the national Cabinet to discuss mounting infections, which are severely expanding testing facilities.
South Korea, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands are among nations that reimposed full or partial lockdowns or other distancing guidelines in recent days. Moreover, Portugal ordered bars and nightclubs to close and told residents to work from home for at least fifteen days from Saturday. Israel announced to offer a fourth dose of the Coronavirus vaccine to citizens older than sixty.
Source: Web
U.S. President Pivots to Home Tests to Encounter Omicron Surge
Combating the Omicron variant surging across the United States, President Joe Biden announced that the government would provide five hundred million free rapid home testing kits, intensify support for hospitals under strain and amplify vaccination and boosting efforts. In addition, the president detailed significant changes to his Coronavirus winter plan. He emphasized that his appeals are not political to receive vaccination shots.
Biden criticized people on cable Television and social media who made false statements to discourage individuals from getting inoculated. Additionally, the pandemic from the new variant of the COVID-19 required the federal government to get more aggressive in tackling the wave of infections. Still, the president vowed to an exhausted nation that there wouldn’t be mass lockdowns of businesses or schools.
Scientists do not know everything about the Omicron strain, but they know that vaccination should offer vital protection against severe illness and death. The new variant has spread at such a shocking rate since initially detected in South Africa around one month ago that the Biden government snapped into action to offer additional aid and new tests.
The U.S. federal government planned to acquire five hundred million COVID-19 rapid tests for free shipment to American nationals starting in January. Americans will use a new website to order their COVID-19 tests, which will then the U.S. mail sent results free of cost. Depending on developments, the government will increase the number from five hundred million.
At present, the United States can conduct around six hundred million tests monthly, with home tests accounting for around half, according to researchers from Arizona State University. Biden is also sending federal medical staff immediately to ready more ventilators and protective equipment from the countrywide stockpile, expanding hospital resources.
Read Also: WHO Urges to Cancel Some Holiday Events amid Omicron
