The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave on Wednesday an emergency use authorization for paxlovid, an oral COVID-19 drug developed by Pfizer Inc.

The drug, first of its kind registered in the US, will be used for treating COVID adults and pediatric patients with "mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease," the FDA said in a statement.

"This authorization provides a new tool to combat COVID-19 at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge and promises to make antiviral treatment more accessible to patients who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19," Director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Patrizia Cavazzoni commented.

Pfizer's shares jumped over 2% after the announcement, selling for $59.97 at 12:20 pm ET.