Pfizer’s antiviral drug for the treatment of COVID-19, Paxlovid, will remain free for now. The U.S. government will proceed to distribute it at no charge despite gaining full approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

On Thursday, Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company behind the primary oral antiviral against COVID-19, issued a press release on its availability following the news that it has been granted full approval to be used against the novel coronavirus disease in adults.

“At the moment, the U.S. government will proceed to oversee the distribution of Paxlovid, and U.S. residents eligible for Paxlovid will proceed to receive the medication at no charge,” Pfizer stated.

The treatment is a mix of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir tablets for oral use amongst patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infection and at high risk for severe illness, hospitalization, or death.

Even before the complete approval, Paxlovid was already available to be used in adults and teenagers, but only under emergency use authorization (EUA). Now that it’s fully approved for adults, more people could have access to it while undergoing treatment for COVID-19.

“Today’s approval demonstrates that Paxlovid has met the agency’s rigorous standards for safety and effectiveness, and that it stays a crucial treatment option for people at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including those with prior immunity,” Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said.

Children aged 12 to 17 can still get Paxlovid for his or her treatment, but they must be eligible under the prevailing EUA. Pfizer said it continues to collect scientific data from ongoing clinical trials involving children, so the drug could get full approval for teens at a future date.

While the Biden administration will proceed to administer the distribution of free Paxlovid, CBS News said this setup would only last for at the very least one other few months. Patients would soon be required to pay for them if the drug just isn’t covered by their insurance.

The free courses of Pfizer’s Paxlovid treatment for COVID-19 will only be available while supplies last. The federal government has already paid for them. Thus federal officials previously said that the approval of the drug wouldn’t affect its free distribution, at the very least for now.

Outside of the U.S., Paxlovid is approved or authorized for conditional or emergency use against COVID-19 in 69 other countries across the globe.

Published by Medicaldaily.com