13 Things To Know About Paxlovid, the Latest COVID-19 Pill > News > Yale Medicine

[Originally published: March 10, 2022. Updated: March 25, 2024]

Note: Information in this article was accurate at the time of original publication. Because information about COVID-19 changes rapidly, we encourage you to visit the websites of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and your state and local government for the latest information.

Paxlovid, an oral antiviral pill that can be taken at home, is the go-to treatment for COVID-19. If you are at high risk for severe disease from COVID, and you take it within the first five days of experiencing symptoms, it will lower your risk of getting so sick that you need to be hospitalized.

Paxlovid was granted full approval in May 2023 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID in adults at high risk for severe disease, including hospitalization and death. The drug was initially granted an FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in December 2021 for everyone 12 and older (weighing at least 88 pounds), and it remains available under the EUA to adolescents and teens 12 and older who have mild-to-moderate disease and are at high risk for severe disease.

The drug, developed by Pfizer, had an 89% reduction in the risk of hospitalization and death in unvaccinated people in the clinical trial that supported the EUA, a number that was high enough to prompt the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to prioritize it over other COVID treatments. Studies outside of the laboratory also have confirmed Paxlovid’s effectiveness among people who have been vaccinated, and experts say it is expected to work against the latest Omicron subvariants.

“It’s really our first efficacious oral antiviral pill for this virus,” says Scott Roberts, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist. “It shows clear benefit, and it really can prevent hospitalization and death in people who are at high risk.”

FDA approval allows Paxlovid to remain available for adults indefinitely. Meanwhile, Pfizer continues to gather pediatric data to submit for FDA approval in children at a future date.

As far as convenience, this medication is considered an improvement over treatments like remdesivir (approved by the FDA in October 2020), which is administered by intravenous (IV) injection. The FDA also granted an EUA in December 2021 to a pill from Merck called molnupiravir (Lagevrio), but some studies suggest that molnupiravir has only a 30% reduction in the risk for hospitalization and death from COVID.

We asked Yale Medicine infectious diseases experts common questions about Paxlovid. Below are their responses.