Prime Minister Bennet: The government wants to purchase Pfizer's drug for Corona patients

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Ministry Director General Prof. Nachman Ash announced Sunday that the government is preparing to purchase Pfizer's drug for Corona patients in Israel. Why is it different from previous epidemic treatments, how effective is it, who will receive it and in what dosage, and is Israel really lagging behind other countries in negotiations with the pharmaceutical company? Dr. Erez Gerty of the Davidson Institute, the educational arm of the Weizmann Institute, explains that “if the results are correct, there is a significant change here in the way we deal with the corona. 

. According to Pfizer's data, there is between 85-89% prevention of hospitalization and mortality. In the experiment, we saw a difference in the data between the control group and the experimental group, when in the control group that received a placebo, ten patients died and 40 came to the hospital. In the experiment only six came to the hospital and no one died. "That is the difference is the good quality of the drug and the fact that it can be obtained in the community and it is not given through a vein, but through a pill, so there is no need for medical intervention."
Tal Brosh, head of infectious disease at Assuta Ashdod and secretary of the team of experts, explains that the drug is intended for those who have begun to develop symptoms of the disease. "The drug will be given from the third day for symptoms for a few days, three pills twice a day. We have not yet decided whether a family doctor can give the drug or just an infectious disease specialist, but the goal is that it will be easily given in the community."
"Because at first there will probably be deficiencies, the drug will be given to patients with background illnesses or the elderly, as well as to people who are not vaccinated because the vaccinated have better protection against the severe disease thanks to the vaccine," he added. The drug currently used in Israel is also given priority without the vaccinated because they are less protected.
According to Dr. Brosh, “We have been looking for a long time for a way to treat Corona. Once we have a patient with severe corona we do not have many solutions, it is clear that we need to intervene early - right in the first few days. What has been tested so far has not succeeded. The drug is not a vaccine substitute but a second line of vaccine. Slowly we get to the point where we have end-to-end treatment - from preventing the disease and epidemic with the help of the vaccine, including a special vaccine in the future for people with immunosuppression, and then if they get infected they will get one of the drugs we offer. The drug will not lower the infection - for that there is the vaccine. The drug provides us with the completion of treatment in case the person is already infected. There is no doubt that this is a real line. "
Prof. Nadav Davidovich, acting chairman of the Public Health Association, said that "negotiations are underway between the Ministry of Health and Pfizer. Israel has warm ties with Pfizer and we will not have a purchase problem once the drug is approved. The Ministry of Health knows the experiment The drug is expected to receive approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of the month, and will probably arrive in Israel shortly thereafter.
Davidovich cools the enthusiasm: "The corona will not leave us and we must fight it with all the tools - it is good that we have another tool to help us face it. It is important to remember that the most important thing is still prevention - vaccination, hygiene, classroom ventilation. Vaccination is better than medicine. "