Lack of awareness over COVID-19 antiviral pill causing barrier to access: experts
Global News
Some experts say there is a lack of awareness among the public for who qualifies for the pills and how to access them.
Health Canada approved Pfizer’s Paxlovid COVID-19 antiviral pill for use against COVID-19 in January this year, but with a large supply of these pills available, experts say there is a lack of awareness among the public for who qualifies and how to access them.
According to Health Canada, Paxlovid can be given to adults 18 and older who are positive for COVID-19 and experiencing mild to moderate illness and at high risk of becoming seriously ill.
The agency currently recommends prioritizing severely immuno-compromised patients, people over 80 who haven’t had all their vaccine shots, and people over 60 living in remote and rural locations, long-term care homes and First Nations.
The treatment, which has to be prescribed, involves taking three pills of two different drugs — nirmatrelvir and ritonavir — twice a day, for five days. It should be started after a positive COVID-19 test and within five days from the onset of symptoms, according to Dr. Sohal Goyal, lead physician at the Mississauga Medical Arts — COVID, Cold and Flu Care Clinic.
“There’re enough pills now, but the issue is when you’re sick, you have a five-day window, so the patient needs to identify they have COVID-19. But lots of people, to this day, think they have a cold,” Goyal said.
This is why people who are at higher risk should test or contact their primary healthcare provider as soon as they experience cold or flu-like symptoms no matter how mild because they might qualify for Paxlovid, Goyal added.
Goyal, who is also chair of the Mississauga Halton primary care network, says lot of people don’t think they can get tested but if someone is at higher risk they do qualify to get a PCR test, such as pregnant women or a high-risk patient.
“If we target the right patients, we only need to treat 25 patients to prevent one hospitalization,” said Goyal.
