The Food and Drug Administration authorized an antiviral drug that has shown to be highly effective at preventing hospitalizations due to COVID-19, making it a powerful tool that could bolster the shaky medical system facing an omicron wave.

“Today’s authorization introduces the first treatment for COVID-19 that is in the form of a pill that is taken orally — a major step forward in the fight against this global pandemic,” said Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.