77 countries have now reported cases of Omicron & the reality is that Omicron is probably in most countries, even if it hasn’t been detected yet. Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant, said Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General,WHO.
In interim results, Pfizer drug did achieve a goal by reducing hospitalisations by about 70 per cent among that group, which included otherwise healthy unvaccinated adults and vaccinated adults with one or more health issues. Less than 1 per cent of patients who got the drug were hospitalised, compared with 2.4 per cent of patients who got a dummy pill.
Pfizer said Tuesday that its experimental COVID-19 pill appears effective against the omicron variant.
The company also said full results of its 2,250-person study confirmed the pill’s promising early results against the virus: The drug reduced combined hospitalizations and deaths by about 89 per cent among high-risk adults when taken shortly after initial COVID-19 symptoms.
Separate laboratory testing shows the drug retains its potency against the omicron variant, the company announced, as many experts had predicted. Pfizer tested the antiviral drug against a man-made version of a key protein that omicron uses to reproduce itself.
The updates come as COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalization are all rising again and the U.S. hovers around 800,000 pandemic deaths. The latest surge, driven by the delta variant, is accelerating due to colder weather and more indoor gatherings, even as health officials brace for the impact of the emerging omicron mutant.
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to soon rule on whether to authorise Pfizer’s pill and a competing pill from Merck, which was submitted to regulators several weeks earlier. If granted, the pills would be the first COVID-19 treatments that Americans could pickup at a pharmacy and take at home.
Pfizer’s data could help reassure regulators of its drug’s benefit after Merck disclosed smaller-than-expected benefits for its drug in final testing. Late last month, Merck said that its pill reduced hospitalisations and deaths by 30 per cent in high-risk adults.
Both companies initially studied their drugs in unvaccinated adults who face the gravest risks from COVID-19, due to older age or health problems, such as asthma or obesity.
Pfizer is also studying its pill in lower-risk adults including a subset who are vaccinated but reported mixed data for that group on Tuesday.
In interim results, Pfizer said its drug failed to meet its main study goal: sustained relief from COVID-19 for four days during or after treatment, as reported by patients.
But the drug did achieve a second goal by reducing hospitalisations by about 70 per cent among that group, which included otherwise healthy unvaccinated adults and vaccinated adults with one or more health issues. Less than 1 per cent of patients who got the drug were hospitalised, compared with 2.4 per cent of patients who got a dummy pill.
An independent board of medical experts reviewed the data and recommended Pfizer continue the study to get the full results before proceeding further with regulators.
Across both of Pfizer’s studies, adults taking the company’s drug had a 10-fold decrease in virus levels compared with those on placebo.
The prospect of new pills to fight COVID-19 can’t come soon enough for communities in the Northeast and Midwest, where many hospitals are once again being overloaded by incoming virus cases.
Both the Merck and Pfizer pills are expected to perform well against omicron because they don’t target the coronavirus’ spike protein, which contains most of the new variant’s mutations.
The U.S. government has agreed to purchase enough of Pfizer’s drug to treat 10 million people and enough of Merck’s to treat 3 million, pending FDA authorisation.
WHO) expects rising hospitalisations and fatalities related to infectious Omicron strain of Covid
Meanwhile,the World Health Organization (WHO) expects an increase in the number of hospitalisations and fatalities related to infectious Omicron strain of Covid, reported Sputnik.
The UN health agency said, “As case numbers linked to a variant of concern increase globally, we expect the number of hospitalized cases and even deaths to be reported.”
WHO also said that more information is needed to fully understand the clinical picture of those infected with Omicron.
77 countries have now reported cases of Omicron and the reality is that Omicron is probably in most countries, even if it hasn’t been detected yet. Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant, said Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General,WHO.
Ghebreyesus last week had said that highlighted “a consistent picture of the rapid increase in transmission” but he added that the exact rate of increase relative to other variants remains difficult to quantify.
The health agency further added that it encourages countries to contribute to the collection and sharing of hospitalized patient data through the WHO Covid Clinical Data Platform.
Last week, the WHO had said that a new variant could have a major impact on the course of the pandemic, but it’s still too early to say for sure.
“As case numbers linked to a variant of concern increase globally, we expect the number of hospitalized cases and even deaths to be reported,” the WHO said in a statement.
The UN health agency also said that more information is needed to fully understand the clinical picture of those infected with Omicron and WHO encourages countries to contribute to the collection and sharing of hospitalized patient data through the WHO COVID-19 Clinical Data Platform, according to Sputnik.
It comes as the WHO last week had shed light on features of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, including the extent to which it will spread, and the number of mutations in the newfound strain.
The UN-health agency had suggested that a new variant could have a major impact on the course of the pandemic, but it’s still too early to say for sure.