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Walgreens pharmacists can now prescribe Paxlovid to help treat COVID-19. Learn more today and see if you are eligible for the antiviral treatment.
• The antiviral drug Paxlovid (ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir) and Veklury (remdesivir), are the preferred treatments for eligible adult and pediatric patients with current diagnosis of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 and who are at risk for progression to severe COVID-19.
- 065208055
- kathy.katella-cofrancesco@yale.edu
- How does Paxlovid work? Paxlovid is an antiviral therapy that consists of two separate medications packaged together. When you take your three-pill dose, two of those pills will be nirmatrelvir, which inhibits a key enzyme that the COVID virus requires in order to make functional virus particles.
- When should I take Paxlovid? You have to take Paxlovid within five days of developing symptoms. Like all antivirals, Paxlovid works best early in the course of an illness—in this case, within the first five days of symptom onset, says Jeffrey Topal, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist who is involved in determining COVID-19 treatment protocols for Yale New Haven Hospital patients.
- How often do I take Paxlovid? The standard dose is three Paxlovid pills twice daily for five days for a full course that adds up to 30 pills. It helps that the pills are packaged in a “dose card,” basically a medication blister pack that allows you to punch out the pills as needed.
- Is Paxlovid similar to Tamiflu? “I think it's a good comparison,” says Dr. Roberts. Tamiflu is an antiviral drug that reduces flu symptoms. Both are prescription-only oral antiviral pills given early in illness.
Work with your healthcare professional to get prescribed PAXLOVID, if appropriate. Once you fill your prescription, start taking PAXLOVID that morning or evening, or at the time your healthcare professional recommends.
- Overview
- How Paxlovid works
- Side effects and interactions
- How to get it
•The antiviral medication Paxlovid has proven to be effective in preventing serious illnesses from COVID-19.
•Right now, only people with certain medical conditions can be prescribed the drug.
•Experts say people who test positive for COVID-19 and are eligible for Paxlovid should ask their doctor to prescribe it.
Paxlovid is a potent antiviral drug that is nearly 90 percent effective at preventing severe COVID-19 and a lynchpin of President Joe Biden’s “Test to Treat” program aimed at spotting COVID-19 quickly and treating it before it becomes life threatening.
It has also been “strongly recommended” as a treatment by the World Health Organization.
In fact, a new study reports that people with COVID-19 who take Paxlovid are 5 times less likely to be hospitalized and 10 times less likely to die from the disease than people who aren’t prescribed Paxlovid.
Paxlovid’s origins date back to 2003 when the original strain of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) broke out.
Research that had begun then was eventually halted, but with the emergence of COVID-19, Pfizer ramped up testing based on the work done nearly two decades prior.
The three-pill regimen contains two different drugs: nirmatrelvir, which disrupts the novel coronavirus’s ability to replicate; and ritonavir, which slows down how quickly the body processes the drug.
The three pills are taken twice daily during a 5-day course.
“Nirmatrelvir works by inhibiting the COVID virus’s protease enzyme that speeds up the replication of the virus in the body,” Dr. David Cutler, a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, told Healthline. “By inhibiting that enzyme it stops the progression of the disease in its tracks. The second drug inhibits the liver system which is responsible for the breakdown and excretion of nirmatrelvir. Therefore, the second drug, ritonavir, prolongs the ability of the first drug, nirmatrelvir, to work within the body to fight the infection.”
A study by the Mayo Clinic reported that few people with COVID-19 who were given Paxlovid experienced “rebound” symptoms after their treatment.
The known side effects of Paxlovid are mild with one of the most common being a sensation of bitterness or metallic taste in the mouth while taking the drug.
Other symptoms include diarrhea, high blood pressure, and muscle aches.
Adverse interactions with other drugs are more common, however.
“Since ritonavir is designed to inhibit the metabolism of nirmatrelvir it also inhibits the metabolism of many other drugs,” Cutler explained. “Those other drugs the patient is taking may accumulate in the body to potentially unsafe levels. It is commonly recommended for patients to stop taking any other conflicting medications while using Paxlovid.”
Contraindicated drugs include anti-cancer medication, certain antipsychotics and analgesics, certain sedatives, and even herbal remedies such as St. John’s wort.
In addition, the CDC recommends that people isolate again for five days if they test positive for COVID-19 after taking Paxlovid.
Currently, not everyone is eligible to be prescribed Paxlovid.
Only those with certain medical conditions that put them at greater risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being given the drug at the moment.
However, those conditions have recently been expanded and include asthma, diabetes, and obesity.
A person must be at least 12 years old and weigh at least 88 pounds.
Experts say if you test positive for COVID-19, ask your doctor about being prescribed Paxlovid as soon as possible.
“As is with most antiviral medications, they are most efficacious when taken early on in the disease course,” Youssef said.
- Christopher Curley
On May 25, 2023, FDA approved a New Drug Application (NDA) for Paxlovid for the treatment of mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in adults who are at high risk for progression to...
Jan 29, 2024 · [01/29/2024] In December 2021, FDA authorized Paxlovid for emergency use for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg) who are at high...
