Pfizer’s antiviral medication Paxlovid is designed to reduce the risk of hospitalization in patients with COVID-19, and it’s approved for use across Canada.
Although it has the potential to take some pressure off hospitals during coronavirus surges, some doctors and pharmacists believe it isn’t being used as widely as it should.
Dr. Brian Conway is the medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Center and an assistant professor in the University of British Columbia’s Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. He said the lack of uptake could be due to a number of factors, including restrictions on who can prescribe it and a lack of awareness about the treatment, both among the public and medical professionals.
“It may be that we’re not prescribing it broadly enough,” Conway told CTVNews.ca. “My sense is when I speak to family physicians who might be the first line, they aren’t aware of it. Many pharmacists I’ve had to work with and explain to them what this stuff is. There hasn’t been a big push to make sure everyone knows what it is.”
HOW IT WORKS
According to Health Canada, Paxlovid is an antiviral medication in pill form that works best to limit the severity of COVID-19 when taken early in the course of an infection with mild to moderate symptoms.
Patients take two doses each day for five days, and each dose consists of two pink nirmatrelvir tablets and one white ritonavir tablet. Nirmatrelvir is an antiviral drug that inhibits a SARS-CoV-2 protein to stop the virus from replicating, while ritonavir delays the breakdown of nirmatrelvir to help it work in the body for longer.
Eligible patients take the drug at home after testing positive for COVID-19. According to the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, side-effects are generally mild and may include an altered sense of taste, diarrhea, muscle pain, vomiting, high blood pressure and headache.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE
In Canada, Paxlovid is approved for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and who are at increased risk of developing serious COVID-19 symptoms that could require hospitalization.
It’s up to provinces and territories to prioritize who is eligible, but Health Canada says age is the strongest risk factor for severe illness and hospitalization, with unvaccinated seniors or seniors whose vaccinations are not up to date facing the most risk.
Other eligible adults include those who are immunocompromised and those who have serious underlying conditions such as obesity or diabetes, and people over 60 living in underserved, rural or remote communities or congregate care settings.
Paxlovid is not approved for people who have not tested positive for COVID-19, patients who are already being treated in-hospital for COVID-19 or anyone under 18.
The drug interacts with dozens of common medications, including some heart medicines, certain antibiotics, hormonal contraceptives and those used to treat erectile dysfunction, blood cholesterol and seasonal allergies.
It is also not recommended at full-strength for people with kidney problems. Anyone with kidney problems or who is taking a medication that might interact with Paxlovid should consult their health-care provider.
Provinces and territories are in charge of prioritizing access to Paxlovid, so anyone with questions about their own eligibility should contact their local or provincial public health service or their health-care provider.
WHO CAN PRESCRIBE AND DISPENSE IT
Provinces and territories have the authority to decide who can prescribe and dispense Paxlovid, which Conway said has created a patchwork of policies that range from simple and streamlined to complicated and bureaucratic.
“So different provinces have different approaches, the most simple being that if someone tests positive on a rapid test, they can communicate that result to a pharmacist or the pharmacist may do the test onsite, and then the pharmacist can link to a physician, a brief interaction occurs, and the medication is prescribed,” Conway said. “So that’s the simplest.”
In other provinces, pharmacies can dispense Paxlovid, but only doctors and nurse practitioners can prescribe it. This is the case in Ontario and British Columbia.
“The most complicated [system] is potentially the one we have here in British Columbia, where there is a form that needs to be completed and they’ve established criteria for eligibility for Paxlovid, and the individual has to meet these requirements,” Conway said.
Conway says the process is so convoluted that some doctors have opted not to prescribe Paxlovid to avoid filling out the paperwork.
In a media release on July 11, Dr. Danielle Paes, chief pharmacist officer of the Canadian Pharmacists Association, called on provincial governments to empower pharmacists to provide point-of-care testing and prescribe COVID-19 treatments such as Paxlovid
“Quebec was the first jurisdiction in the world to enable pharmacists to prescribe for Paxlovid and saw a marked increase in use of the COVID-19 antiviral, helping to keep patients out of hospitals. Other provinces have followed suit, but many have not yet enabled this critical service,” Dr. Paes said.
“Pharmacist-prescribed Paxlovid is just one example of the kind of innovative community care that will reduce the strain on our hospitals while expanding access to the services and care Canadians rely on.”
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
