The Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to authorize the first antiviral pills to treat COVID-19, meaning the country could soon be armed with a tool that’s been described as a game-changer in the course of the pandemic.
New Morning Consult polling shows that while most people would take the medication if they got sick, a key group is wary of the potential new treatments: About half of unvaccinated adults said they would turn down antiviral pills if they got COVID-19, even if they were authorized by regulators and prescribed by a doctor.
Over Half of Unvaccinated Adults Say They’re Wary of Potential COVID-19 Antiviral Treatments
U.S. adults were asked whether they would take a COVID-19 antiviral pill if they got sick and the treatment was FDA-authorized and prescribed by a doctor
Poll conducted Nov. 17-21, among 2,199 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2%. Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
45% of Adults Say COVID-19 Antiviral Pills Would Help Fight Global Severity of Disease
U.S. adults were asked how the availability of antiviral pills would affect COVID-19’s severity around the world
Poll conducted Nov. 17-21, among 2,199 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2%. Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
What else you should know:
- Only 7 percent of U.S. adults said they think the availability of COVID-19 antiviral pills would completely curb the disease globally, but 38 percent think it would help make it less severe. Even so, another 28 percent think COVID-19 will be just as severe or worse. The public held similar views about how antivirals could affect COVID-19’s severity in their own communities and in the United States overall.
- Both Pfizer and Merck have signed agreements with a U.N.-backed nonprofit to mass produce their pills for low-income countries. Yet even in the United States, it may be difficult for people to access the pills quickly enough for them to help slow the disease, given people must start taking them within three to five days of showing symptoms.
- Most of the public hasn’t heard much about the major recent developments on COVID-19 antivirals, with 42 percent saying they’ve seen, read or heard “a lot” or “some” about the Biden administration deal with Pfizer and 30 percent saying the same of U.K. regulators’ authorization of Merck’s pill.
The poll was conducted Nov. 17-21, 2021, among 2,199 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.