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Matthew Perrone And Tom Murphy
Washington (AP) —Pharmacists take major COVID-19 pills based on new US policy announced Wednesday Can be prescribed directly to. Expand the use of the Pfizer drug Paxlovid.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, pharmacists have begun screening patients to see if they are eligible for Paxlovid and have been shown to limit the worst effects of COVID-19. You can prescribe medicine. Previously, only doctors could prescribe antiviral drugs.
Announced as a case of COVID-19, hospitalizations and deaths have increased again, but have remained close to the lowest levels since the outbreak of coronavirus began in 2020.
Biden officials say that hundreds of Americans continue to die from COVID-19 every day, despite the availability of vaccines and cures. I am expressing dissatisfaction.
Government officials have been working for months to increase access to Paxrovid and have set up thousands of sites where positive patients can prescribe Paxrovid. The FDA changes will allow thousands more pharmacies to quickly prescribe and dispense pills. The pill should be used early for it to be effective.
"Because you need to take Paxrovid within 5 days of the onset of symptoms, allowing a nationally licensed pharmacist to prescribe Paxrovid will increase access to timely treatment. It may be, "said Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA Drug Center
Still, use may be limited by paperwork requirements. Patients are expected to bring recent health records, including blood tests, and a list of current medications to ensure that pharmacists do not adversely affect Paxlovid with other medications. Alternatively, the pharmacist can consult the patient's doctor.
Paxlovid targets people with COVID-19 who are at high risk of becoming seriously ill. This includes the elderly and those with other health problems that make them more vulnerable, such as heart disease, obesity, cancer and diabetes.
The FDA approved Paxlovid in December last year based on results showing a nearly 90% reduction in hospitalization and mortality for unvamped patients most likely to develop severe illness. Did. The drug has shown less impressive results in patients already on vaccine protection, and some doctors have reported that COVID-19 symptoms recurred after treatment with the drug.
Extending the test and treatment program to include pharmacists allows you to add thousands of additional options to your patients. CVS Health and Walgreens, the two largest drug store chains in the United States, operate in a total of approximately 19,000 locations.
CVS Health already offers COVID-19 care at 1,100 clinics in the drug store.
According to the National Community Pharmacists Association, there are nearly 19,400 independent pharmacies that are not tied to a large chain.
Prior to the announcement, pharmacist Michele Belcher tested customers for COVID-19 due to the lack of primary care doctors in her community, a small city in southwestern Oregon. Said he wanted to be able to provide a pill. Of Grant Pass.
She said she was worried that during the narrow window to start the pill, she might have a hard time getting a prescription doctor's appointment. Stated.
Belcher, the owner of the independent GrantsPass Pharmacy, said he was testing and treating COVID-19 with ineffective injections.
She said her pharmacy regularly checks for potentially harmful interactions with other drugs that the patient may be taking.
"Pharmacists are drug experts," she said. "That's what we do every day, all day. Make sure there is no interaction with the drug."
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Murphy was reported by Indianapolis. rice field.
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The health science department of the relevant press is supported by the Science Education Department of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. AP is solely responsible for all content.
