Editorial: Limitations of Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill

There is good news at last, with the approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill, a course of treatment to be administered at home — and a new Merck pill, albeit a less efficacious one. This could be a game-changer in the pandemic’s transition to a more manageable risk environment.

But Pfizer’s is expensive — more than $500 per course. And because supplies are still lagging, it’s going to be available primarily to patients at particular risk of serious disease. For most people, vaccination is best. Still.