Pfizer on Tuesday officially submitted an application with the FDA for emergency use authorization of its COVID treatment pill, 10 million courses of which are to be purchased by the Biden administration, CNBC and The Washington Post report.
The White House is expected to announce the "multibillion-dollar investment" this week, which officials "hope will help change the trajectory of the pandemic by staving off many hospitalizations and deaths," says the Post. If authorized by the FDA, the Pfizer drug has the potential to "revolutionize the fight against COVID" by allowing high-risk individuals to treat themselves at home rather than in a hospital, writes CNBC. When taken alongside a common HIV drug and within three days of the onset of symptoms, the pill reduces hospitalization and death by 89 percent, Pfizer said.
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