Alabama to Get Limited Doses of COVID-19 Treatment Medicine

This image provided by Pfizer in October 2021 shows the company’s COVID-19 Paxlovid pills. U.S. health regulators on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus. (Pfizer via AP)

Health officials say Alabama will have a limited number of doses of a new drug that can be used to treat COVID-19.

The Alabama Department of Public Health says the state’s initial supply of 780 courses of the Pfizer oral drug Paxlovid will be distributed through pharmacies. The Food and Drug Administration approved the pills for emergency use in adults and children.

Health officials say they’re worried the state’s health system will be strained as the fast-spreading omicron variant takes hold in Alabama.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have jumped more than 70% statewide in a month.

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