April 22,2022: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has given its backing to Pfizer’s Paxlovid treatment for COVID-19 after studies showed the antiviral pill reduced the risk of high-risk patients being admitted to hospital by 85 percent.
The WHO announced on Thursday it was making a “strong recommendation” for the use of Paxlovid – a combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir – for people with mild and moderate COVID-19 but at risk of hospital admission, calling it the “best therapeutic choice for high-risk patients to date”.
The new recommendation followed two trials involving nearly 3,100 patients that showed treatment with Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalisation by 85 percent, equivalent to a potential cut in hospital admissions in that group of 84 people per 1,000, it said.
Cases of COVID-19 continue to fall around the world, but the disease continues to take a toll on older people, those with pre-existing conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, and the unvaccinated. The WHO has been adding more drugs to its list of recommended treatments as the pandemic has progressed, backing arthritis drug baricitinib in January as the Omicron variant surged.
