Study Finds COVID Drug Cuts Hospitalizations in Half, but FDA Yet to Approve It

Bottles of pills on shelves at Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, on May 20, 2020. George Frey/AFP via Getty Images

An experimental COVID-19 antiviral drug seems to be effective at preventing hospitalizations, but isn’t cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a study published online Wednesday.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that the drug, interferon lambda, prevented 51 percent of hospitalizations among individuals who received COVID-19 vaccines.