A new treatment against COVID-19 will be accessible in Quebec as a priority for people with weakened immune systems, regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not, indicated the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services (INESSS ).
The Quebec government body has thus unveiled guidelines comparable to those put forward by the federal authorities, who announced Monday the approval of Paxlovid.
Quebec would have exceeded the peak of COVID-19 cases for this wave, but not yet reached that of hospitalizations, explained Minister Dubé, Dr. Luc Boileau and Dr. Lucie Opatrny, at a press conference on Tuesday.
Responding to questions from journalists during a technical information session organized by the Ministry of Health, Sylvie Bouchard, director at INESSS, said that the people targeted as a priority for Paxlovid are those who are at risk of find in the hospital.
“We identified the populations most at risk, so we talked about immunosuppressed people, regardless of their vaccination status, she said. We know that these people have difficulty producing antibodies to fight the virus. »
The federal government announced Monday that each of the provinces would receive its share of the first 30,000 treatments of the drug, produced by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.
The Quebec Ministry of Health indicated on Tuesday that 6,300 treatments will be available in Quebec in January, which will initially limit access to people with weakened immune systems, such as those treated for certain cancers or who have received a graft.
The guidelines unveiled by INESSS provide that with the anticipated increase in supplies, the Paxlovid offer could be extended to other people with COVID who are at high risk of complications who are “not adequately protected”. .
“Immunosuppressed people are considered very high risk and then we can add patients who have equally high risks but who are a little less so in terms of immune function or the ability of the system to fight infection,” said Ms. Bouchard.
Soon in some pharmacies
Present during the technical information session on Paxlovid, the president of the College of Physicians, Mauril Gaudreault, in turn gave the orientation of the professional order of Quebec physicians.
“Let’s be clear, whether a patient is vaccinated or not, voluntarily or not, when his life is threatened, the doctor, like all the other professionals on the team, have an ethical duty to offer him the best possible treatment, he said. That’s what we’re talking about and there’s a drug available, let’s find the patients who can benefit the most to treat them with the amount we have. »
Paxlovid will be available in 50 pharmacies across Quebec and will be obtained like many other treatments following a doctor’s prescription. Pharmacies will now have to keep a sufficient number of rapid tests for those who may have priority access to Paxlovid, in order to give them a rapid result.
After the first delivery, the Quebec Ministry of Health expects to receive 6,200 treatments in February and 19,000 in March.
At 1 p.m. Tuesday, the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, provides an update on COVID-19 in Quebec. He will be accompanied by the interim national director of public health, Luc Boileau, and the assistant deputy minister in the general direction of academic, medical, nursing and pharmaceutical affairs, Lucie Opatrny.
Prior to the press conference, the media were invited to a virtual technical briefing hosted by the Acting Director of Pharmaceutical Affairs and Medicines of the Ministry of Health and Human Services.
Last week Prime Minister François Legault announced his intention to impose a contribution on the unvaccinated. He then affirmed that this measure, the contours of which remain to be clarified, will be the subject of a bill expected in February.
Further details will follow.