Explainer: COVID-19 pills should be taken within 5 days

Newly infected COVID-19 patients have two treatment options available at home. However, there are pitfalls to its convenience. You should take the pill as soon as you have symptoms.

The challenge is to take a test, get a prescription, and start the pill in a short window.

US regulatory authorities approved Pfizer’s tablets, Paxrovid, and Merck’s Lagebrio at the end of last year. In high-risk patients, Pfizer was much more effective, but both have been shown to reduce the likelihood of hospitalization or death from COVID-19.

look carefully:

Who should take these medicines?

Antiviral drugs are not suitable for everyone who has a positive test. These are intended for patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 who are more likely to become ill. This includes the elderly and people in other health conditions that make them more vulnerable, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Paxlovid is also allowed for children over the age of 12, but both pills were fine for adults.

Who does not take these medicines?

Merck’s Lagevrio is not allowed for children as it can interfere with bone growth. It is also not recommended for pregnant women due to the possibility of birth defects.

Pfizer tablets are not recommended for patients with serious kidney or liver problems. It may also be not the best option for some people as it may interact with other medications.

Antiviral drugs are not allowed for people hospitalized with COVID-19.

What is a treatment window?

The pill should be started as soon as possible within 5 days of the onset of symptoms. Coughing, headaches, fever, loss of taste and smell, and muscle and body aches are more common signs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides a website to check your symptoms.

Dr. Cameron Wurf, an infectious disease specialist at Duke University Hospital, advises you to be tested as soon as you have symptoms of COVID-19.

“If you wait until you start to run out of breath, you’ve already missed to a large extent the windows where these medicines are useful,” Wolff said.

Where can I get medicine?

Pharmacies, community health centers, hospitals, emergency medical centers, etc. are storage locations for antiviral drugs, but prescriptions must be obtained from a doctor or other certified healthcare professional.

Oral treatment is currently available in about 20,000 locations across the country, but President Joe Biden’s administration expects the total to jump to about 40,000 in the coming weeks.

The government is also working to increase the number of sites that can inspect patients and provide treatment in a single visit. Currently, there are 2,200 of these so-called test-to-treat sites, including all 1,200 Minute Clinic locations within the CVS drugstore. Patients can find a location from test to treatment by checking the US Government’s COVID.gov website.

The supply of pills was initially limited, but now a sufficient amount is available.

Are there other options for new COVID-19 patients?

Yes, but it’s not as easy to use as pills.

In February, the Food and Drug Administration approved bebutellobimab, a new injection from Eli Lilly that targets the Omicron variant with a virus-fighting antibody. Regulators have revealed that it is a drug for adult and adolescent patients with mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 at high risk of hospitalization and death.

Earlier this year, regulators revoked an emergency use authorization for another Lily drug and Regeneron and GlaxoSmithKline drugs because they were no longer effective against the evolving virus.

What other treatments may be given?

Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi is testing another antiviral drug.

Unlike Paxlovid, the company’s drug does not require a second antiviral drug to be more effective against COVID-19. This can reduce some of the potential drug interaction problems associated with the Paxlovid combination.

Shionogi is also designed to be taken once daily for 5 days. This is easier than taking Paxlovid, which you have to take twice a day for 5 days.

In a mid-term study, Shionogi said it significantly reduced COVID-19 virus levels and shedding in patients treated within 5 days of symptoms. The company conducts a large global survey of patients at high risk of hospitalization and death due to age and other health problems. Early results from that study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, are expected by the fall.

The company has already applied for approval in Japan and will also apply to regulatory agencies in the United States and Europe.