Application submitted to FDA approval for pill to treat Covid

(KYMA, KECY/ CNN) - Merck said on Monday that it had submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration to authorize what would be the first antiviral pill to treat Covid.

An approval for the drug would be a milestone because it is more convenient and cheaper than the antibody treatments currently being used.

 If approved by the Biden Administration, the pill is likely to be allocated to states.

Tens of millions of Americans will most likely be eligible to take it if they get sick with Covid and the federal government has placed an advance order for enough pills for 1.7 million Americans, at a price of about $700 per patient.

That is about one-third the price that the government is paying for the Monoclonal antibody treatments, which are generally given via an IV.