U.S. Moves To Make Antiviral Drugs More Available Against COVID

Washington- As the White House predicts that COVID-19 infections will continue to spread during the summer travel season, the White House announced further steps to make the antiviral treatment Paxlovid more accessible nationwide.

The nation’s first federal-sponsored test-to-treat site will open on Thursday on Rhode Island, providing immediate access to medicines if patients test positive. More federal-backed sites will open in Massachusetts and New York City in the coming weeks, both of which have experienced a significant increase in infectious diseases.

Next week, the United States will send licensed federal prescribers to several Minnesota-operated testing sites, turning them into a test-to-treatment location. Federal regulators have also sent clear guidance to doctors to help doctors decide how to manage Paxrovid’s interactions with other medicines, giving prescribers life-saving medicines to more patients. We aim to help you find a way to get it.

Viral deaths over the past eight weeks, despite the nationwide surge in cases of COVID-19, as booster vaccinations and widely available treatments help isolate infection and mortality. It’s almost stable.

Infectious diseases confirmed in the United States have quadrupled since late March and are now about 25,000 to over 105,000 per day. However, deaths that tended to delay infection for 3-4 weeks during the coronavirus pandemic have steadily declined and are now flat at less than 300 per day.

Dr. Ashish Jar, COVID-19 coordinator at the White House, said the two weren’t in fashion together during the pandemic process. He described it as an important step in helping Americans return to normal life.

“What’s remarkable about the recent increase in infectious diseases we’re seeing is how stable serious illnesses, especially mortality, are in the next eight weeks,” he said. “COVID is no longer the killer a year ago.”

Jha said the results are often unreported given the widespread use of rapid tests at home. health According to officials, the true number of daily infections is probably more than 200,000, twice the reported rate, and only makes the mortality stagnation more important, he said.

He acknowledged the vaccine’s achievements, but the prescription for Paxrovid, a highly effective treatment, has more than quadrupled in the last six weeks.

Ja said that about 25,000 to 30,000 courses of Paxrovid are prescribed daily. Administration within 5 days of onset of symptoms has been shown to reduce hospitalization and mortality in patients most likely to have serious illness by 90%.

Due to the change in how Paxlovid is assigned to states, the number of pharmacies that can use Paxlovid doubled last month to about 40,000.

“We now say that basically most COVID deaths are preventable, the deaths that occur there are almost unnecessary, and there are many tools to prevent people from dying from this disease. I believe. Ja told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

As summer approaches, Jha said that the “best” thing people have to do is “go and boost.” And if you have a breakthrough infection, you should talk to your doctor about getting Paxlovid. He said that thanks to the tools available, meetings of all sizes can be held more safely — if people use them.

“Unfortunately, in countries where the boost rate is much lower and the infection is beginning to spread, we are absolutely worried that more serious illnesses may occur,” he said.

“Vaccination and support is a big part of ensuring that such types of activities are virtually safe,” he added. “And, of course, we want Paxlovid to be widely available nationwide, so if we get a breakthrough infection, we’ll be protected from serious illness.”

The United States has ordered 20 million courses of Paxrovid from pharmaceutical company Pfizer, and if the drug continues to be widely used, there is a risk of a country shortage this winter. The White House has been asking Congress for months to support the purchase of more Paxrovid and other treatments, as well as additional boosters.

If Congress does not act, the government has launched plans for a potential need to distribute a federal supply of vaccines, but Jha now says his message to prescribers should not worry about their supply. That is.

“We now believe that we should use as much as we need to protect Americans,” Ja said.