Covid-19: UK orders millions more antiviral pills as Omicron spreads

The U.K. government will buy millions more Covid-19 antiviral pills from Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. as it seeks to combat the surge in omicron infections and reduce rising pressure on the country’s hospitals.  

Britain has secured an additional 1.75 million courses of Merck’s drug, molnupiravir, and an additional 2.5 million courses of Pfizer’s paxlovid, according to a statement Wednesday. Previously the U.K. had sourced 480,000 courses of molnupiravir and 250,000 courses of paxlovid.  

Antivirals are used to treat those who are infected with Covid or sometimes to protect exposed individuals from becoming infected. They target the virus at