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The European Medicines Agency has recommended that Pfizer's coronavirus antiviral drug be authorized for use in the 27-nation European Union, the first time the agency has recommended a pill for treating COVID-19, The Associated Press reported. 

In a statement on Thursday, the EU drug regulator said giving the green light to Pfizer's Paxlovoid could help people infected with COVID-19 avoid more serious disease and being hospitalized. EMA's expert committee recommended the pill be given to adults who don't require oxygen and who are at higher risk of severe disease.

The drug was cleared by regulators in the U.S. and Britain in late December, although authorities noted that supplies would be extremely limited.

An antiviral pill from Merck also is expected to soon be authorized. But Pfizer’s drug is all but certain to be the preferred option because of its mild side effects and superior effectiveness as suggested by studies, including a nearly 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severely ill.

It is noted that the pills from both Pfizer and Merck are expected to be effective against omicron because they do not target the spike protein where most of the variant’s worrisome mutations reside.