President Biden’s administration is taking steps to expand availability of the life-saving COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid.
Paxlovid, produced by Pfizer, was first approved in December. Supply of the regimen was
, but as COVID-19 cases across the country have fallen and manufacturing has increased it is now far more abundant. The White House is now moving to raise awareness of the pill and taking steps to make it easier to access.The White House said Tuesday it is stepping up outreach to doctors, letting them know they shouldn't think twice about prescribing the pill to eligible patients.
The administration believes the pharmacy channel, which it used to boost availability of COVID-19 vaccines more than a year ago, will similarly make the antiviral pills more available to people. “The bottom line is that we want to make this therapeutic available to all Americans,” Dr. Ashish Jha, the White HousePaxlovid, when administered within five days of symptoms appearing, has been proven to bring about a 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease. About 350 Americans are now dying each day from