Pfizer to begin to charge patients for COVID medication

Pfizer has announced that they will establish the U.S. cost for its COVID-19 antiviral therapy Paxlovid at roughly 1,400 dollars for every five-day treatment when government agencies stockpiles expire. This is over two times the amount the nation’s government is already charged for it. 

According to Pfizer, patients in the U.S.  who receive Paxlovid—the most often recommended home-based therapy for COVID-19—will have the ability to access it for no charge for the rest of 2024. 

The medication will also remain cost-free for those covered by Medicare and Medicaid until the conclusion of 2024, as well as individuals who are not insured or have inadequate insurance throughout 2028, per a deal with the government.  

Since 2023, the medication’s popularity has decreased. Based on statistics from the U.S. government, about 7 million doses of the medicine were administered to healthcare consumers in 2022.