Ontario reports 1,332 COVID-19 hospitalizations as Paxlovid arrives at select pharmacies

Ontario is reporting 1,332 people in hospital with COVID-19 Wednesday as pharmacies in the province begin distributing a pill to treat the virus.

Today's hospitalizations mark a slight dip from Tuesday's 1,366 but are up from 1,074 at this time last week.

Of the hospitalizations reported, there are 182 patients in intensive care. That's also down from 190 a day earlier but up from 168 a week ago. Eighty-five patients are on ventilators due to the virus.

The province reported another 3,833 COVID-19 cases through limited PCR testing, with 23,618 tests completed the day before. However, Dr. Peter Jüni, who heads the province's science advisory table, said last week the latest wastewater data suggests daily case counts for the virus are hovering around 100,000 to 120,000.

​Wednesday's test positivity rate sits at 17.5, down from Tuesday's 18.7 per cent.

The province also reported 13 more deaths linked to the virus, pushing Ontario's total death toll to 12,583.

Meanwhile, select pharmacies across the province will begin distributing a pill to treat COVID-19 starting Wednesday.

Ontario had a centralized distribution system, largely through hospitals and assessment centres, until the province announced Monday it would allow select pharmacies to distribute the drug to those who have a prescription​ — a ​move applauded by infectious disease experts.

"It's a good move because it makes it a lot easier for people who are eligible and are prescribed packs," said Dr. Gerald Evans, an infectious disease professor at Queen's University and the medical director of infection prevention and control at Kingston Health Sciences Centre.

Paxlovid, an antiviral, has shown a 90 per cent reduction in hospitalizations among unvaccinated patients with the Delta variant who received the drug within five days of symptom onset.

​The province expanded eligibility parameters for Paxlovid to anyone 70 and older, people 60 and older with fewer than three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and people 18 and older with fewer than three vaccine doses and at least one risk factor such as a chronic medical condition.

Evans cautioned that Paxlovid, which must be started within the first five days of symptoms, does not work for everybody and said the best protection against COVID-19 remains vaccination.

The province is now in its sixth wave — driven by the lifting of those public health measures, according to Public Health Ontario — and hospitalizations are rising.

Hospitals throughout eastern Ontario say they are facing staff shortages as COVID-19 restrictions lift and community transmission increases.