Oral antiviral pills from Merck & Co. and Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE have been shown to significantly blunt the worst outcomes of COVID-19 if taken early enough, but doctors warn vaccine hesitant people not to confuse the benefit of the treatments with prevention afforded by vaccines.
Some disease experts fear the arrival of oral COVID-19 treatments may further impede vaccination campaigns. Preliminary results of a survey of 3,000 U.S. citizens by the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Public Health suggest the drugs could "hamper the effort to get people vaccinated," said Scott Ratzan, an expert in health communication at CUNY, who led the research.
Ratzan said one in eight of those surveyed said they would rather get treated with a pill than be vaccinated. "That is a high number,” Ratzan said.