Why Not Everyone Should Take Paxlovid

It’s getting harder to avoid COVID-19, thanks to the dominance of BA.5 in the U.S. and the growing number of other Omicron subvariants. Fortunately, Pfizer’s antiviral treatment Paxlovid can minimize illness from the disease. But it’s not meant for everyone. Only those who are at increased risk for severe disease from COVID-19 qualify for the drug, including people over age 12 who have weakened immune systems or other health conditions that increase risk of serious effects of COVID-19—like asthma, cancer, liver disease, lung disease, heart disease, and obesity. Paxlovid also comes with a list of potential adverse reactions with common drugs, such as cholesterol-lowering statins. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Because the drug is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but allowed under an emergency use authorization, doctors generally can’t prescribe it outside of the authorization criteria. Yet that’s not stopping people of all ages and risk profiles from asking for Paxlovid, which went from hard-to-find to much more accessible in just a few months. From December 2021, when Paxlovid was authorized, to June 2022, prescriptions for the drug have jumped from 2,500 to nearly 1 million in the U.S., according to data provided to TIME by health-data company Iqvia. Here’s what prescribers say about who should get Paxlovid at this point in the pandemic. People at higher risk benefit more Studies conducted by Pfize...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news