The European Commission (EC) on Friday authorized the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 antiviral pill one day after the European Unions’ (EU) drugs regulator backed the treatment for adults who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk of severe disease. Stella Kyriakides, the EU’s commissioner for health and food safety, called it “a key step in bringing the most promising therapeutics to citizens and a strong, second line of defense against the pandemic after vaccination.” The pill, Paxlovid, was endorsed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which issued a statement on Thursday as it granted conditional marketing authorization for the oral antiviral medicine used for treating the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19. “Paxlovid is the first antiviral medicine to be given by mouth that is recommended in the EU for treating COVID-19,” the EMA said. The drug was cleared by regulators in the United States and …