USFDA removes COVID test requirements for Merck, Pfizer pills
The health regulator said individuals with recent known exposure with signs and symptoms may be diagnosed by their healthcare providers with COVID even if they have a negative test result.
US: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday removed the need for a positive test for COVID-19 treatments from Pfizer Inc and Merck & Co Inc.
Pfizer's Paxlovid and Merck's Lagevrio pills were given emergency use authorizations in Dec. 2021 for patients with mild-to-moderate COVID who tested positive for the virus, and who were at risk of progressing to severe COVID.
Still, the FDA said the patients should have a current diagnosis of mild-to-moderate COVID infection.
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The health regulator said individuals with recent known exposure with signs and symptoms may be diagnosed by their healthcare providers with COVID even if they have a negative test result.
Read also: Pfizer, Merck rebuff China's push for deeper price cuts on COVID drugs: Bloomberg
