Norway has ordered 41,000 doses of Pfizer’s new corona pill

Photo: Pfizer via AP

Norway has asked the EU for 41,000 doses of Pfizer’s corona pill in the first and second quarters of 2022, according to the Ministry of Health and Care Services.

Earlier in December, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the Paxlovid pill for emergency use on patients in high-risk groups in EU countries struggling with a large spread of infection. Norway orders the corona pill through the EU in the same way as vaccines are ordered.

Pfizer has stated that a study confirms that the company’s Paxlovid pill protects against serious illness. The pill probably also works against the omicron variant, the company claims. The USA has also approved the Paxlovid pill.

In addition, the EMA has issued emergency approval to the corona pill Lagevrio from the pharmaceutical company Merck, which means that each EU country can decide whether it will use it before it is formally approved.

Multiple corona medicines

In November, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) recommended the purchase of medicines against corona.  

“If the elderly become infected, they can use these medicines to reduce their risk of serious illness. They will most likely also work on the omicron variant,” FHI’s Preben Aavitsland informed the newspaper VG at the time.

In a risk assessment, the FHI wrote that press releases from Pfizer and Merck indicate that the medicines can reduce the risk of hospitalization by up to 90% in unvaccinated at-risk patients who start treatment early in the course of the disease.

Merck

According to the Ministry of Health, Norway has previously entered into an agreement with Merck for the delivery of the corona pill Lagevrio.

But last week, Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that the pill would probably not be used. State Secretary Ellen Moen Rønning-Arnesen (AP) stated on Monday that the corona pill would be stored for the time being.

“The preliminary assessment from the Norwegian Directorate of Health is that the medicine should not be used now. However, we constantly get access to new documentation,” she said in an email to NTB.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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