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    • COVID-19

    Africa CDC signs memorandum with Pfizer for COVID-19 pill

    African nations will have access to the pill at cost.

    By Sara Jerving // 07 July 2022
    Paxlovid, Pfizer's COVID-19 treatment pill. Photo by: Jennifer Lorenzini / Reuters

    The African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pfizer for access to Paxlovid, the company’s antiviral therapy to treat COVID-19. This memorandum will give African nations access to the pill at cost, said Dr. Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, acting director of Africa CDC, during a press briefing Thursday.

    In April, the World Health Organization recommended the use of Paxlovid for patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 calling it the “best therapeutic choice for high-risk patients to date.” Two randomized controlled trials found that the pill led to an 85% reduction in the risk of hospitalization.

    Distribution by the African Union: How these pills will be distributed among countries is yet to be decided, Ouma said, but the AU will need to assess demand by countries for the pill, and health workers will also need to be trained on how to prescribe it.

    The AU has served as a vehicle in providing access to African nations to COVID-19 countermeasures through pooled procurement, such as providing a platform for countries to purchase COVID-19 vaccines.

    Pfizer’s efforts: While there has been concern over availability of the pill in low- and middle-income countries, Pfizer has made a number of efforts to expand access. The company has shipped over 12 million treatment courses to nearly 40 countries. Pfizer has a licensing deal with the Medicines Patent Pool that allows a generic version of the drug to be produced and sold in 95 LMICs; it signed a letter of intent with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for up to 6 million treatment courses and an agreement with UNICEF for up to 4 million courses. The Clinton Health Access Initiative also launched an initiative to make generic versions of the drug available at $25 per course.

    • Global Health
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    • Pfizer Inc.
    • Africa CDC
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    About the author

    • Sara Jerving

      Sara Jervingsarajerving

      Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.

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