A new pill that promises to treat high-risk COVID patients will soon be available for at-home treatment
By
- Replies 4
A new oral treatment for COVID-19 will become available at Australian community pharmacies this weekend.
Pfizer’s PAXLOVID will be added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme this Sunday, making it available for high-risk patients — such as the elderly and immunocompromised — who are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms within the first five days of suspected infection.
The revolutionary drug, which was approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in January, is said to be the first oral treatment of its kind to cure the symptoms of COVID-19 and works by slowing or stopping the virus from replicating.
It should be noted, however, that you can only get your hands on this drug if you have a prescription from your doctor and over-the-counter purchase or selling of pills outside community pharmacies is strictly forbidden.
Additionally, the drug is not available to children and cannot be given to patients who require ventilators.
The new oral treatment will be available for high-risk patients. Credit: Mark Wilson/News Corp Australia.
Pfizer Australia and New Zealand's Medical Director Dr Krishan Thiru has urged high-risk people testing positive for COVID-19 to seek medical advice quickly, in order to determine the most appropriate course of treatment.
It was said that PAXLOVID, which is taken twice daily for five days, is most effective when taken as soon as possible after diagnosis.
It should also be noted that elderly Australians who are over 65 years old (over 50 years old for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders), or immunocompromised are eligible for a PBS subsidised treatment.
Pfizer's new COVID-19 oral treatment is not a replacement for vaccination according to the company's managing director Anne Harris. The treatment is designed for people who are unable to mount an adequate response to the vaccine.
PAXLOVID also provides an important second line of defence for those most at risk. Ms Harris said that the company is committed to tackling the virus on many fronts and that PAXLOVID is an important part of that effort.
Aside from PAXLOVID, a similar oral treatment, Lagevrio, was made available to high-risk patients by the PBS in March of this year.
What are your thoughts on this? We’re glad that oral pills like this are now available for those who are vulnerable to contracting serious symptoms from the virus.