Editorial: Waiting for the Covid pill that could be a game-changer

Pfizer's Covid-19 Paxlovid pills. US health regulators on Thursday authorised the first antiviral pill against the coronavirus. Photo / AP

Human behaviour has battled with medical breakthroughs over which could influence the course of the pandemic the most.

A running theme of the pandemic has been the lack of political will to mass-produce vaccines, other treatments and protective gear to a level where people around the globe could benefit.

That appears to have extended the life of the pandemic by allowing mutations to succeed each other.

Production hubs for the vaccines could have been set up all around the world in late 2020 and early 2021. High-quality masks could have been produced and sent out to people free in the first year. Only now is the United States sending out millions of free rapid tests to its citizens.

It is both positive and frustrating that Pfizer's new antiviral pill has been approved in the US but it will apparently take months to fill an initial order.

Paxlovid can be used to protect people aged 12 and over with mild or moderate Covid symptoms who are at risk of severe disease. Pfizer says it cuts the likelihood of hospitalisation and death by 89 per cent.

It is said to work against Omicron and could be a game-changer in that people unwilling to get vaccinated might be prepared to pop a pill instead.

But the White House says only 265,000 treatment courses will be available initially and the order of 10 million will be delivered by about July.

That's a disappointing result for the US and the wider world.

President Joe Biden said: "We will work closely with [Pfizer] and provide any resource needed, including using the Defence Production Act if warranted."

The act has been used earlier in the pandemic to force companies to prioritise making some supplies. But the drug companies have retained control over production and profits from the vaccines - the most important weapons.

Surely if anything needs to be mass-produced it is this pill.