United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has signed a supply agreement with Pfizer for the procurement of up to 4 million treatment courses of the new oral antiviral medicine nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (PAXLOVID) in 2022.

UNICEF procurement of PAXLOVID is dependent on country demand, clinical recommendations and necessary approvals.

In December 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the use of the Pfizer drug for the treatment of mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. PAXLOVID is currently under assessment by the World Health Organization (WHO).

This agreement will help ensure that low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have timely access to this novel COVID-19 therapeutic. Supply will be made available for procurement and delivery to 95 LMICs, which includes some upper-middle income countries. UNICEF will work closely with WHO and Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) partners such as The Global Fund and Unitaid to ensure equitable access to the drug.