The government has contracted with Pfizer to purchase 10 million more doses of the company’s oral COVID-19 treatment, Paxlovid.
The latest purchase is in addition to the 10 million doses the company previously bought, Pfizer said in a news release.
The treatment has an ingredient that blocks COVID-19 and can be used for the treatment of mild-to-moderate cases of coronavirus in adults and kids 12 years old and older who weigh at least 88 pounds.
The patients also have to be at high risk of the infection becoming severe.
The use of Paxlovid was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month, NPR reported.
Paxlovid was the first approved at-home antiviral treatment. Previous treatments were either given by IV or injection, The Associated Press reported.
The FDA also approved Merck’s pill, molnupiravir, as a treatment for COVID-19 cases, the AP reported.
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