Less than 100 Quebecers with COVID-19 have been treated to the drug Paxlovid since its arrival in pharmacies at the end of January, even if its effectiveness is recognized in avoiding hospitalizations.
“It’s not a lot, that’s for sure, reacts the Dr Karl Weiss, microbiologist-infectiologist at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. We try to give as much as possible. The procedure is not easy in the current state of things. »
As of March 7, 92 patients had received the drug Paxlovid in a pharmacy, according to data from the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS).
Doses that sleep
These figures include data from 60 of the 65 pharmacies that distribute it. However, Quebec has received more than 14,000 doses since January. The drug can be distributed by hospitals too, say experts, but the MSSS has no data on this subject.
According to Pfizer studies of unvaccinated patients, Paxlovid reduces the risk of hospitalization in vulnerable patients by up to 89%. However, it must be taken within the first five days of illness.
“Used well, this drug has the potential to help reduce the pressure on hospital resources,” wrote the MSSS last February. Currently, more than 1,000 patients with COVID-19 are hospitalized in Quebec.
However, several criteria restrict its use, so that certain patients are given priority. When the prescription is authorized, the patient must then obtain the drug from one of the 65 dispensing pharmacies.
Too complicated
“It’s so restrictive, that at the end of the line, it has not been given much,” laments Benoit Morin, president of the Quebec Association of Proprietary Pharmacists (AQPP). We need to expand that. »
“We want to be able to prescribe it as soon as a patient has a positive result,” he says.
Moreover, work is underway to “simplify the mode of access”, in particular so that patients can obtain it without going through the hospital, writes by email the MSSS.
According to the Dr Weiss, Quebec must above all prepare for the fall of 2022, in view of the next waves.
“We have to be able to distribute it easily and efficiently. We do not want a rise in hospitalizations because we did not treat people at risk as quickly as possible. »
Other experts, however, note that this drug is not a panacea, and they bet more on vaccination.
“We don’t need it right now, we are under the effect of vaccine protection. When the immunity is gone, we’ll see,” says Nimâ Machouf, epidemiologist.
ACCESS CRITERIA AT PAXLOVID
- Immunosuppression
- Over 60 and less than two doses of vaccine received
- Obesity
- Uncontrolled diabetes
- Chronic renal failure
- Hepatic insufficiency
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Chronic respiratory disease
Source: MSS