"Widely available."
That's how Dr. Ruth Lynfield, Minnesota's respected state epidemiologist, sums up the current supply of antiviral treatments — in other words, pills or outpatient therapies prescribed soon after a positive test for those at risk for severe COVID-19.
Good news has too often been a rare commodity during this long, exhausting pandemic. But one medication in particular — dubbed Paxlovid — delivers a welcome double shot of that. It's plentiful and potent, being close to 90% effective against hospitalization and death when taken during a limited window of time.
