COVID Pill
It’s obvious that some people dislike and avoid vaccines for whatever reason, and it’s their personal choice. However, some might be more cooperative with a pill, instead. A study by biotech firm Vaxart found that more than 19 million Americans who refuse to get a vaccine would get their vaccination through a pill, if possible. 19 million people are a good chunk of the unvaccinated in the United States, which has got companies in a new race to develop COVID-19 pills.
Pfizer, on Tuesday, submitted their claim for authorization of their COVID-19 pill, called Paxlovid. This isn’t necessarily a vaccination pill, but instead it works like many prescription drugs. Health experts see it as a way to cure infections, especially in the early stages of infection when the virus is weak, and hospitals can use it to treat patients. The US government has already ordered 10 million courses of the pill, but Pfizer projects to only produce 180,000 courses by the end of this year, with the number slowly rising. Pfizer also gave the license of the drug to a non-profit organization led by the UN, which would give citizens in 95 developing countries access to the pill, and they waived royalties too. The effectiveness is clear: clinical data shows that it reduced the risk of death and hospitalization in high-risk people by 89 percent if taken 3 days after infection. This could become the 2nd pill for COVID-19 in the world, with Merck having one under review by the FDA already, but as they say, “The more, the merrier.” What do you think about the COVID-19 pill?
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
