USA, First Published Dec 14, 2021, 7:18 PM IST
Pfizer vaccine is 90 percent effective against omicron, according to a new study. Recent lab data suggest that the Pfizer antiviral Kovid pill maintains its effectiveness against the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.
Michael Dolston, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer, said the anti – viral Kovid 19 pill was still 90 percent effective in preventing hospitalization and death in high – risk patients.
The U.S. pharmaceutical maker recently stated that oral medicine is 89 percent effective in preventing hospitalization or death, based on interim results for approximately 1,200 people. No one died in the trial where Pfizer was treated. Antiviral Pfizer tablets were given every 12 hours for five days immediately after the onset of symptoms.
Pfizer also released preliminary data from a second clinical trial showing that hospitalization reduced treatment by 70 percent in 600 adults. Michael Dolston said it was an amazing result.
Dolston said he expects approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies to use it in high-risk individuals soon. Kovid 19, currently approved in the United States, has no antiviral treatment.
Some scientists have raised safety concerns about the potential for birth defects from the Merck drug and whether it could cause the virus to mutate. Pfizer’s medicine works differently. It is a class of drugs currently known as protein inhibitors used to treat HIV, hepatitis C and other viruses.
Dolston said a recent laboratory test showed that the anti-protein action of the Omicron variant was basically as good as any SARS-COV-2 variant of concern.
Dolston said it was looking to further expand production of the Pfizer vaccine as newer variants, such as the newly discovered Omicron, could significantly increase the demand for antivirals.
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