Magali, a village nurse administers the Covid-19 vaccine to senior citizen at the Plan health center, on March 3, 2021 in Plan, Spain. The community of Aragon, Spain, is beginning to vaccinate people who cannot travel to vaccination centers with the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine at their homes in rural mountain villages.
Alvaro Calvo—Getty Images

After playing a critical role in curbing COVID-19 disease with its vaccine, Pfizer and CEO Albert Bourla late last year introduced an oral antiviral therapy to treat those at highest risk of severe illness. The two-drug combination is the first pill-based corona­virus treatment in the U.S., and can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by up to 89%. Demand for Paxlovid, which has received emergency-use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will likely increase under the White House’s plan to broaden access to such therapies with its Test to Treat initiative.

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