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Pfizer’s newly approved antiviral COVID-19 pill Paxlovid for treating the disease could be just what nursing homes need to address staffing shortages exacerbated by the public health crisis, according to one expert. 

The pill was approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration in late December for adults and children who have mild-to-moderate COVID-19 and are at high risk of the disease progressing severely.

The medication has been shown to reduce hospitalization risk by up to 90% in clinical trials. The United States has also doubled its order of the oral medication to 20 million treatment courses. 

Deutsche Bank analyst Derek Johnston in a note this week said Pfizer’s pill is a “sizable positive” for the industry by helping address labor issues, according to a report by Bloomberg.

“The treatment, along with new shorter isolation guidelines, could make higher labor costs ‘transitory,’” he wrote, according to the report. 

States have already begun to prioritize long-term care residents for the COVID-19 oral treatment option. In Nevada, the pill is being initially offered primarily to patients in long-term care and skilled nursing facilities because of its scarce availability.