Paxlovid’s key in the COVID battle, but easy access is important: Doctor

“My message to all Canadians who may be at high risk of immunodeficiency, etc .: It’s a little different in different parts of Canada, so now the community knows how to access the drug as needed. Please, “Dr. Teresatam said on Tuesday.

The federal government has distributed about 150,000 Paxrovid courses to states and territories, Tam said. Most states have centralized drug distribution systems, often through hospitals and evaluation centers, and eligibility varies from country to country.

“I think we all want Paxrovid to be mobilized more widely,” said Tam, adding that Health Canada is working with various jurisdictions on this issue.

“We plan to use these types of drugs in more important ways as we have more access to antivirals in the future. This is great news. We just need to know how to get them to people faster. is.”

Quebec pharmacists can prescribe Paxlovid, but the only person with the highest risk of severe illness is Paxlovid.

Ontario had a centralized distribution system primarily through hospitals and evaluation centers until Monday announced that the state would allow distribution of medicines to people with prescriptions on Monday.

This move received applause from infectious disease experts.

Dr. Gerard Evans, a professor of infectious diseases at Queen’s University and medical director of infection prevention and management at the Kingston Health Science Center, said: ..

At Evans hospitals, doctors had only two ways to deliver medicines to patients. Even if you live an hour’s drive from Kingston, Ontario, you can either take the patient to the hospital or take it in a hurry.

“This medicine is not available to many patients,” he said.

He warned that Paxlovid, which must start within the first 5 days of symptoms, does not work for everyone, and said that the best protection remains vaccination against COVID-19.

Dr. Zain Chagra, an associate professor of infectious diseases at McMaster University in Hamilton, said other states should follow the leadership of Quebec and Ontario.

“The drug needs to be decentralized,” Chagla said.

This week, Ontario released Paxlovid eligibility parameters for people over 70 years old, people over 60 years old who received less than 3 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and at least one risk factor with less than 3 doses. Expanded to those who have 18 years or older. Chronic medical condition.

“We have medicines that can significantly reduce hospitalization,” Chagla said. “We need a community that is now beginning to be a prescribing and donor to prevent patients from being hospitalized.”

In Ontario, hospitalization and intensive care unit capabilities have been a major impetus for imposing and lifting public health measures in the past COVID-19 wave. In mid-March, the state government lifted almost all public health measures, including masking in most public spaces.

Ontario is currently on the sixth wave and is being driven by the lifting of these public health measures, according to the Ontario Public Health Service, with increasing hospitalizations.

Chagra last month prescribed Paxrovid to about 150 people and warned that it would interact with many medications, including anticoagulants, cholesterol, contraceptives, and epilepsy medications.

“About 95% of these potential interactions can be dealt with in just a few minutes of my time,” he said. “It’s not insurmountable. Most people can take medicine or deal with drug changes for a week to tackle this.”

In Quebec, people who meet certain criteria are considered “high risk” for COVID-19 complications and are eligible for Paxlovid, but some doctors consider the criteria too strict.

“It really depends on how high risk is defined,” said Dr. Emily McDonald, an associate professor of medicine at McGill University Health Center. “I or someone else may define high risk in a way that is different from what the government has defined.”

But McDonald’s said it was a trade-off that could give pharmacists the ability to prescribe Paxrovid.

According to McDonald’s, each state has different eligibility standards, which, coupled with lack of communication about drugs, exposes the public to darkness.

“It’s an access and communication issue, and we have to deal with both,” she said. “Simpler messages are more likely to succeed.”

-Use files from Laura Osman in Ottawa.

This report Canadian press First published on April 13, 2022.

Liam Casey, Canadian Press