FDA Authorizes 1st COVID Pills As Cases Surge In New Jersey

NEW JERSEY — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the first available pills designed to treat COVID-19. The developments come as New Jersey hit record highs for new cases for two straight days, including 15,482 confirmed Thursday.

Pfizer's Paxlovid became the first antiviral COVID-19 pill authorized for people to take at home before they get sick enough for hospitalization. The pill treats mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in patients 12 and older who weigh at least 88 pounds, who are at high risk for hospitalization or death.

The pill is available by prescription only and should be initiated as soon as possible after diagnosis of COVID-19 and within five days of symptom onset.

Pfizer released updated results last week showing the treatment cut the risk of hospitalization or death by 89 percent if given to high-risk adults within a few days of showing symptoms.

The FDA also authorized Merck's molnupiravir for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19. Like Pfizer's pill, molnupiravir is prescription-only and designed for people with COVID-19 who are at high risk of hospitalization or death. But only adults 18 and older are authorized to take it, since it may affected bone and cartilage growth.

The pills are not substitutes for vaccination against COVID-19, the FDA says.

The FDA's authorization came as New Jersey hit record-highs for case totals for two days straight. The New Jersey Department of Health reported 9,711 new cases Wednesday and 15,482 on Thursday. State officials also announced confirmed 61 new COVID-19 deaths in the past two days.

"However, it is important to note that testing was less widely available in prior waves, so it is difficult to compare the number of infections between now and prior phases of the pandemic," said Donna Leusner, Director of Communications with the New Jersey Department of Health.

The rapidly spreading omicron variant represents 73 percent of new cases, according to the CDC. Just one week earlier, delta made up 87 percent of sequenced cases to omicron's 12.6 percent.

The New Jersey Department of Health reported 2,241 hospital patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 as of Wednesday — the state's highest total since April 14.