As CT's COVID Infections Rise, New Pfizer Pill Shows Promise

CONNECTICUT — The winter surge of the coronavirus in Connecticut is continuing, but some good news appears to be on the horizon.

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced Tuesday that its experimental coronavirus-fighting pill reduced combined hospitalizations and deaths by about 89 percent among high-risk adults. This came when the pill was taken shortly after COVID-19 symptoms were detected.

Additionally, the pill appears to retain its potency against the virus's omicron variant, which is spreading rapidly in the United States and has been found in Connecticut.

The Pfizer antiviral pill joins one produced by Merck which is also seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration. In late November, Merck reportedly said that its pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by 30 percent among high-risk adults, a lower than expected percentage.

Omicron cases remain relatively low in Connecticut, but overall coronavirus cases are continuing to surge, with 2,999 new cases as of Tuesday and the infection positivity rate jumping to 8.16 percent.

Additionally, hospitalizations rose by 36 to 681, as of Tuesday, and of those patients, 521 were not fully vaccinated, according to state health officials.

"For the week beginning November 28, 2021, unvaccinated persons had a 5x greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated persons," officials said in a statement. "For the week beginning November 28, 2021, unvaccinated persons had a 16x greater risk of dying from COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated persons."

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Only one county, Middlesex, has seen a drop in coronavirus hospitalizations, as of Tuesday.

For a town-by-town breakdown of new COVID-19 cases in Connecticut, see the Connecticut Data Portal.