Topline
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized pharmacists to prescribe Pfizer’s Covid-19 antiviral therapy Paxlovid to eligible patients, a move that could help boost efforts to make the pill more widely available as coronavirus positivity rates trend upwards.
Tablets of the drug Paxlovid for the treatment of Covid-19 pass through a packaging line.
Key Facts
Pharmacists can now prescribe the pills—which were first authorized by the FDA in December—to coronavirus patients 12 years and older who are at a high risk of developing severe Covid, after reviewing patients’ health records and medication lists.
Since the drug must be taken within five days of the start of symptoms, authorizing state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid could “expand access to timely treatment” for those who are eligible, Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director for the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.
Previously, the pills were usually prescribed by health care providers or at “test-to-treat” sites set up through the federal government.
Big Number
80 million. That’s how many courses of Paxlovid Pfizer has said it hopes to make by the end of 2022. Pfizer announced last month it would spend $120 billion to boost production of Paxlovid.
Key Background
Pfizer’s antiviral drug—which is nearly 90% effective at preventing hospitalizations from Covid—has been viewed by some scientists as a critical tool in the fight against Covid. The pill was the first efficacious antiviral oral treatment approved for emergency use by the FDA, and White House officials in recent months have been pushing to improve access to the drug. In March, the Biden Administration announced “test-to-treat” sites across the country where people can get tested for the coronavirus and receive Covid treatments if they are positive. The program has been criticized by some experts who say it has not significantly sped up access to the drug. Pharmacists had been pushing for authorization to prescribe the antiviral therapy, arguing such a move would also improve access. The FDA decision comes as daily Covid cases have plateaued at around 100,000 in recent weeks, more than triple the roughly 30,000 daily cases recorded in early April, as the highly contagious Omicron BA.5 variant has become dominant—but still well below January’s 800,000 cases per day.
Tangent
After taking Paxlovid, some patients have reported “rebound infections” in which they test positive again for the coronavirus after initially clearing the infection with a five-day course of the drug. White House coronavirus advisor Anthony Fauci, who tested positive for Covid in June, told CNN last week he experienced a rebound case after taking the drug, which he said helped keep him out of the hospital. Those with rebound infections are even capable of spreading the coronavirus, according to a paper published in May that has yet to be peer-reviewed. It’s unclear how frequent rebound infections are and why they occur, but the cases appear to be mild.
Further Reading
FDA allows pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid COVID treatment (Axios)
Pfizer To Spend $120 Million To Boost Paxlovid Production (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/07/06/pharmacists-can-prescribe-pfizers-covid-antiviral-paxlovid-fda-says/