COVID-19 cases Sheridan County, Pfizer seeks approval of pill to treat COVID-19

Sheridan County added another three lab confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours to the 4,309 lab confirmed cases experienced in the county since the pandemic began. 

The county also added four probable cases. That number is now 1,315 probable cases since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Currently there are 87 active cases in the Sheridan County community. 

Sixteen patients are currently hospitalized battling the virus. Sheridan County has experienced the deaths of  55 residents from COVID-19. 

According to reports from the Associated Press, Pfizer has asked U.S. regulators on Tuesday to authorize its experimental pill for COVID-19, setting the stage for a likely launch this winter of a treatment that can be taken at home.

The pharmaceutical company’s filing comes as new infections are rising once again in the United States, driven mainly by hot spots in states where colder weather is driving more Americans indoors.

Pfizer reported earlier this month that its pill cut hospitalizations and deaths by 89% among high-risk adults who had early symptoms of COVID-19. The company studied its pill in people who were unvaccinated and faced the worst risks from the virus due to age or health problems, such as obesity. If authorized, the Food and Drug Administration will have to weigh making the pill available for vaccinated people dealing with breakthrough infections, since they weren’t part of the initial tests.

According to the reports, Pfizer’s pill has been shown to significantly cut the rate of hospitalizations and deaths among people with coronavirus infections. The FDA is already reviewing a competing pill from Merck and several smaller drugmakers are also expected to seek authorization for their own antiviral pills in the coming months.

Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said in a statement that the company is moving as quickly as possible in their effort to get the potential treatment into the hands of patients, and they look forward to working with the FDA on its review of their application.

Pfizer wants the drug available for adults who have mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infections and are at risk of becoming seriously ill. That’s similar to how other drugs are currently used to treat the disease. But all FDA-authorized COVID-19 treatments require an IV or injection given by a health professional at a hospital or clinic, according to the AP.

Pfizer’s drug is part of a decades-old family of antiviral drugs known as protease inhibitors, which revolutionized the treatment of HIV and hepatitis C. The drugs block a key enzyme which viruses need to multiply in the human body. That’s different from the Merck pill, which causes tiny mutations in the coronavirus to the point that it can’t reproduce itself.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list Sheridan County’s level of community transmission as HIGH.

More COVID-19 information is available at www.sheridancounty.com/covid-19/.