COVID-19 pill

The research is likely to renew questions about the Biden administration's use of the pill, which has become a go-to treatment for COVID-19 due to its at-home convenience.

At least 7 million immunocompromised people could benefit from the monoclonal antibody injections designed to prevent COVID. The government says it has enough doses for a fraction of those in need ― and it doesn’t have the money to buy more.

The medicine, called molnupiravir, is taken twice a day for five days and works by preventing the virus from replicating. Merck says it will have 10 million packs available by the end of the month.

The research finds that the medicine, called Paxlovid, was effective in preventing hospitalization and death when taken by people with mild to moderate illness within a few days of symptoms.

Based on the strength of the trial's results, Pfizer says it will ask the FDA for emergency use authorization rather than enroll more people for clinical trials.