Pfizer Oral Covid-19 Pill Gets U.S. Authorization
PHOTO: MERCK ANTIVIRAL DRUG MOLNUPIRAVIR PILLS BEING MANUFACTURED STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF MOLNUPIRAVIR PILLS STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF PFIZER'S PAXLOVID ANTIVIRAL PILLS BEING MANUFACTURED SHIPPING SCENES OF PFIZER'S ANTIVIRAL PAXLOVID
INTERNATIONAL: On Wednesday, The United States has authorized Pfizer’s oral antiviral COVID-19 pill for at-risk people aged 12 and above, making it the first at-home treatment for the coronavirus and a potentially important tool in the fight against the fast spreading Omicron variant.
Data from Pfizer's clinical trial has showed its antiviral regimen, Paxlovid, was 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in patients at high risk of severe illness. Recent lab data suggests the drug retains its effectiveness against Omicron, Pfizer has claimed.
Pfizer has said it was ready to start immediate delivery in the U.S. of the treatment - whose two-drug regimen includes a new medicine and a second older antiviral called ritonavir - and raised its 2022 production projections to 120 million courses of treatment from 80 million.
The agency's decision comes as the country combats a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant, with U.S. President Joe Biden announcing plans for more federal vaccination and testing sites.The U.S. government's contract for 10 million courses of the Pfizer drug is priced at $530 per course.
The agency has announced it authorized the oral drug for emergency use for the treatment of mild-to-moderate disease in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older, who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19.
The drug 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, the agency has said.
The second drug, ritonavir, is known to have interactions with some other prescription medicines. Pfizer has said that should be manageable and suggested most patients would be able to lower the dose of their other medications while being treated for COVID-19.
Pfizer has plans to file a new drug application with the FDA in 2022 for potential full regulatory approval.
Nigeria Burns One Million AstraZeneca Vaccines
PHOTO: TRUCK CARRYING EXPIRED VACCINES EXPIRED VACCINES BULLDOZER CRUSHING VACCINES VACCINATION CENTRE PEOPLE GETTING VACCINATED SOUNDBITE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NIGERIA PRIMARY HEALTH CARE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY SOUNDBITE
Nigeria on Wednesday has destroyed more than a million doses of expired AstraZeneca vaccines in a bid to assure a wary public that they have been taken out of circulation.
The destruction came more than a week after health authorities have said some COVID-19 doses donated by rich Western nations had a shelf life that left only weeks to administer the shots. Around one million COVID-19 vaccines were estimated to have expired in Nigeria in November without being used.
At a dump site in Abuja, a bulldozer has crushed AstraZeneca shots that were packed in cardboard boxes and plastic as reporters and health officials watched.
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency executive director Faisal Shuaib says that a shortage of vaccine supplies on the continent, had forced Nigeria to take the doses, knowing fully well they had a short shelf life.
Governments on the continent of over one billion people have been pushing for more vaccine deliveries as inoculation rates lag richer regions. The lower vaccination levels raise the risk of higher infection and death rates from COVID-19, especially as new, fast-spreading variants emerge such as Omicron.
Health minister Osagie Ehanire has said Nigeria will no longer accept vaccines with a short shelf life, citing a presidential committee decision.
The World Health Organization has said up to 13 million vaccine doses have been administered in Nigeria as of 19 December.
Africa's most populous country, with a population exceeding 200 million, has recorded 227,378 COVID-19 cases and 2,989 deaths since the pandemic started.
Health experts say Nigeria needs to triple its vaccination drive from just over 100,000 doses a day to meet its target to inoculate more than half its population by the end of next year.Recently, like many other African countries, Nigeria has seen a surge in vaccine supply, which has highlighted other issues relating to distribution and hesitation by citizens to get inoculated.
Natural Swiss Ice Cave Forms Through a Siphon Effect
PHOTO: DRONE VIDEO OF ICE CAVE ON SWISS MOUNTAINTOPS, SOUNDBITE FROM VISITOR TO GLACIER
And…Nothing compares to nature’s beauty.
The bluish cave, which varies in shape each year, has a rounded ceiling made of thick ice about 5 meters high, and is about 20 meters long.
The tunnel is accessible by foot in 15 minutes from the chairlift at Glacier 3000 above the resort of Les Diablerets, but at your own risk, organisers have said.
The natural cave, also known as "The Mill," forms through a siphon effect. Each spring and summer, the cavity fills with water from the snow melt, forming a lake. In autumn, the plug disappears and the water drains, leaving the cave.
