An antiviral COVID-19 drug approved by the World Health Organisation only for emergency use in Bahrain has been called a significant breakthrough in the country’s fight against the pandemic.

The name of the antiviral emergency medicine is Pfizer Paxlovid. Their authorities registered this medicine last month, and it is considered by medics a key to support patients at high risk who are suffering from serious complications.

The medicine is taken orally, and if it is needed to give to the patients in the first five days of illness, it has been shown to cut hospitalizations by 89 percent. Basically, it is a combination of Pfizer’s investigational antiviral PF-07321332 and a mild dose of ritonavir; an antiretroviral medication earlier used to treat HIV.

Bahraini doctors are preparing the drug to be delivered to the country in a bid to begin treating patients.

Viral treatments, like GSK’s sotrovimab- successfully launched in the UAE in 2021- and molnupiravir from Merk have armed doctors with extra weapons to treat the virus.

However, vaccines and some regular boosters are the most effective options in order to help nations put all out of the pandemic, said Dr Jaleela Alsayed Jawad, a chief executive of Primary Health Care Centre in Bahrain.

Dr Jawed added that after the two years of the pandemic, this is a significant breakthrough, and now we are researching for the substitute at how we can prevent complications.” Dr Jawed is also a Bahrain National Task Force for Combatting Coronavirus member.

However, this medicine will not be going to exchange any vaccine or booster shot. As per research, it has resulted that vaccine, and booster shots are more effective.

Bahrain has recorded 383,000 cases in a population of 1.7 million- in short, at least one in five residents have had the virus.

However, the Death toll stands at just 1,408. From the start of the pandemic, the ICU bed rate was increased from 100 to 700.