When Will COVID-19 Pills Be Available In Illinois?

ILLINOIS — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve COVID-19 pills from Merck and Pfizer by the end of December, paving the way for Illinoisans to pick up highly effective treatments for the coronavirus at their local pharmacy.

The approval can't come soon enough as cases, hospitalizations and deaths surge across the state. According to Illinois health officials, cases of the coronavirus have jumped 17 percent over the last week, while hospitalizations are up 26 percent and deaths have surged 46 percent.

On Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced more than 49,000 new cases of coronavirus and an additional 266 deaths since the previous week.

According to Pfizer, their new pill decreased virus levels 10-fold and cut hospitalizations and deaths by nearly 90 percent when taken within three days of the onset of symptoms. Early studies also suggested it was effective against the new omicron variant of the virus, which health officials say is likely more transmissible, but not necessarily more deadly.

Merck's pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by 30 percent in high-risk adults, according to data the company submitted to the FDA last month.

But health experts worry high-risk patients infected with COVID-19 may not be able to get tested and treated in that three-day timeframe. Studies of a similar drug used to limit the impact of influenza show that only 40 percent of high-risk patients got diagnosed within the three-day window to begin treatment.

Even with the new pills, health officials say COVID tests and vaccines are still crucial to ending the pandemic.

"This is truly a game changer," said Dr. Daniel Griffin, an expert on infectious diseases and immunology at Columbia University, told CNN. "This is up there with vaccines. It's not a substitute for vaccines; we still want to get people vaccinated. But, boy, this is just another great tool to have."

Patch reporter Dave Copeland contributed to this report.