U.S. to double and accelerate order of Pfizer antiviral pills

President Biden will announce on Tuesday that he's directing his team to double the United States' order of Pfizer antiviral pills from 10 million COVID-19 treatment courses to 20 million treatment courses, and the delivery will be accelerated from September to June, a senior administration official told CBS News. 

Mr. Biden will discuss the Pfizer pills, which treat patients who have contracted COVID, in remarks Tuesday afternoon during a meeting with members of the White House COVID-19 Response team, according to the senior administration official. The meeting will address the latest developments of the contagious Omicron variant, which has led to the highest case rates of the pandemic. The president will hear how cases continue to increase with the variant, but fully vaccinated and boosted Americans are not likely to have severe symptoms. 

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for Pfizer's antiviral pill, Paxlovid, to treat COVID-19 for Americans as young as 12 who are at "high risk for progression to severe COVID-19." In a study, Pfizer said its pill was 89% effective at preventing hospitalization and death among such high-risk patients. Pfizer says the pill works by blocking the ability of the virus to make copies of itself.