Anti-Covid-19 pill Paxlovid may reduce hospitalisation risks, say experts

Photo shows the first shipment of Paxlovid pills to arrive in Malaysia. — Photo from Twitter/Noor Hisham Abdullah

LOS ANGELES (May 5): Anti-Covid-19 pill Paxlovid could reduce risks for Covid-19 related hospitalisation, and early treatment with Paxlovid and other available authorised therapeutics could make a difference for high-risk patients, according to health experts.

Paxlovid is now widely available at community pharmacies in the United States, said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday.

“There is strong scientific evidence that it reduces the risk of hospitalisation and death in patients with mild-to-moderate Covid-19 at high risk for progression to severe disease,” said John Farley, director of the Office of Infectious Diseases in the FDA’s Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Paxlovid is also expected to be effective against the Omicron variant, Farley said, according to Xinhua.

The FDA authorised Paxlovid in December 2021 for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older weighing at least 40kg, with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing who are also at high risk for progression to severe Covid-19, including hospitalisation or death.

Although the number of Covid-19 hospitalisations has decreased dramatically since early 2022, some high-risk patients are still getting sick enough to require hospital admission.

Early treatment with Paxlovid and other available authorised or approved therapeutics could make a difference, according to the FDA.

Last week, US Vice President Kamala Harris was prescribed Paxlovid after she tested positive for the virus. She tested negative on Monday this week for Covid-19 on a rapid antigen test.

Paxlovid contains nirmatrelvir and ritonavir. It is now supplied in two different dose packs, one for standard dosing and one for moderate renal impairment dosing, according to the FDA.

In patients with moderate renal impairment, the dosage of Paxlovid is 150mg nirmatrelvir and 100mg ritonavir twice daily for five days.

Patients with mild renal impairment should receive the standard dose of 300mg nirmatrelvir and 100mg ritonavir with all three tablets taken together orally twice daily for five days, according to the FDA.

Paxlovid is now widely available at community pharmacies. People tested positive for Covid-19 could locate their nearby pharmacies by locator tools and get Paxlovid for free, Zhang Zuofeng, chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Xinhua. — Bernama

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