Israel has authorized this Sunday for emergency use Paxlovid, the pill from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to treat covid-19 and has already ordered tens of thousands of doses to begin administering it to those infected with the disease in the country.
The first shipment of the drug is expected to arrive in Israel on Wednesday, as reported by the Israeli Ministry of Health in a statement.
Other authorizations
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) had approved the use of Paxlovid, the first treatment for home use in the world against this coronavirus and it is expected that it will also be effective against the omicron variant, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did the same on the 22nd.
The Pfizer pill inhibits protease enzyme activity, which is necessary in the replication process of the virus in the body.
light state
The drug, administered in tablet form, is intended to be administered by patients in mild to moderate state in the first three days after the onset of symptoms.
The complete treatment includes one pill every twelve hours for five days, based on effectiveness proven in phases 2 and 3 of clinical trials, in which Paxlovid was shown to reduces severe symptoms, hospitalization and death in 89% of cases, when patients receive medication early.
According to data from Pfizer, the effectiveness of the pill should not be altered by the emergence of new variants, including the omicron variant.
Agreement
Israel was one of the first countries in the world to sign a year ago a agreement with Pfizer for the acquisition of its vaccine against covid-19, which made it one of the pioneer nations in immunizing the majority of its population.
Some six million people in Israel have received the full schedule of the vaccine and more than four million have the third dose or booster vaccine, which the country began to apply in the summer.
Related news
Fourth dose
Israel was the first country to announce this week that it would “immediately” start the campaign with the fourth dose, although at the moment it is paralyzed waiting for the Ministry of Health to authorize it after being advised by the committee of experts.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com