The government has launched a review for emergency use authorization of Pfizer's COVID-19 pill.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Wednesday, the review for PAXLOVID began upon request from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA).

The ministry plans to examine documents on clinical and product information, before further analysis by the advisory and other committees.

Pfizer said that PAXLOVID was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by 88 percent when given to an unvaccinated person at high risk of severe COVID-19 within five days of symptoms starting. 

According to the company, lab experiments have also shown that the drug will attack a key protein in the omicron variant.