PANDEMIC

EU regulator gives Pfizer pill for Covid-19 green light

A worker checks boxes containing Paxlovid, pills at a distribution center in the South Korean city of Cheongju. Photo: YNA/dpa.

The Nomad Today/dpa

27 de January de 2022 (18:54 h.)

Possible side effects include impaired sense of taste, diarrhoea, high blood pressure and muscle pain

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has given its approval to a pill developed by Pfizer to treat Covid-19, the EU authority announced on Thursday.

The US pharmaceuticals giant's drug Paxlovid can prevent severe disease in patients following a coronavirus infection, the EMA said.

This is the first drug against Covid that can be taken orally.

Pfizer says it reduces the risk of hospitalization and death in Covid-19 patients by 89 per cent.

The European Commission still has to approve the authorization, but that is considered a formality.

Three tablets twice a day

According to the manufacturer, patients take three tablets twice a day for five days. The active ingredient, nirmatrelvir, is supposed to inhibit a Sars CoV-2 protein and thus stop the virus from multiplying.

Possible side effects include impaired sense of taste, diarrhoea, high blood pressure and muscle pain.