As Omicron Spreads Across US, New Covid Drugs In Short Supply
NDTV
Paxlovid and Merck & Co.'s molnupiravir have been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to keep non-hospitalized high-risk patients from needing admission.
New treatments for early Covid-19 are now beginning to arrive at pharmacies in New York and elsewhere but remain in short supply, according to a representative of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
"I know patients who have actually gotten outpatient prescriptions in New York City" of Pfizer Inc.'s Paxlovid, Aaron Glatt, professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, New York, said Thursday in an interview.
Doctors are anxiously awaiting the new medications as highly transmissible omicron spreads across the U.S. and the world, leading to record case numbers in many regions. While the new variant appears less dangerous overall than earlier strains, the sheer number of cases is threatening health systems.
Paxlovid and Merck & Co.'s molnupiravir have been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to keep non-hospitalized high-risk patients from needing admission. So far, they work better against omicron than antibody therapies from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co. that were cleared for the same purpose.
