Paxlovid reduces the risk of death from Covid. But those who need it don't take it.
As Covid deaths rise to around 1,500 per week, researchers wonder why Paxlovid use has remained low among high-risk patients.
As Covid surges again, killing about 1,500 Americans every week, medical researchers are trying to understand why so few people are taking Paxlovid, an incredibly effective drug for preventing serious illness and death from the disease. Study of a million high-risk people with Covid found that only about 15% of people eligible for the drug were taking it. If instead half of eligible patients in the United States had received Paxlovid during the research period, 48,000 deaths could have been avoided, concluded the authors of the study, led by the National Institutes of Health. /p>< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">It's not because people don't know about this drug – most do – but the reluctance seems to come from doctors worried about interactions with it. other medications and people wary of a possible case of rebound or metal. aftertaste.
Regional differences offer a clue, with adoption higher in Democratic strongholds in the states' Northeast and Pacific Northwest regions -United and lowest in dark red areas, including Florida and Indiana. Yet no comprehensive study has figured out why so few people used the drug, which reduced the risk of death by 73 percent for high-risk patients at the N.I.H. study.
“I don’t know why there is such variability and why adoption is not higher across the board,” said Dr. Josh Fessel, Senior Clinical Advisor. about the National Institutes of Health team that studied the drug's use. “If you can take Paxlovid and you take Paxlovid within the recommended time frame, the risk of death or hospitalization is significantly reduced. It's a big problem. »
Covid deaths have increased since September, at around 1,200 to 1,300 deaths per week, reaching around 1,500 per week in December. Researchers say they will likely continue to rise unless more people receive updated Covid vaccines and antiviral treatments.
Dr. Fessel said that over the entire million-strong N.I.H. study, about 10 percent of high-risk patients eligible for Paxlovid took it, although the rate increased to about 15 percent toward the end of the study period, in early 2023. In total, the N.I.H. the authors estimate that about 135,000 hospitalizations and 48,000 deaths could have been avoided if half of the patients eligible for the antiviral had gotten it.
Paxlovid, manufactured by Pfizer, is a two-drug treatment intended to be taken within five days of the onset of Covid symptoms to stop the spread of the virus in the body. It has been approved for adults who are at high risk for severe Covid, which generally includes people 65 and older and people with diabetes, obesity, asthma and other conditions.
The reasons for not prescribing or taking it are varied: Doctors balk at the long list of drugs not to mix with Paxlovid, including common medicines to lower blood pressure or prevent blood clots. Patients tend to complain about the metallic aftertaste of the medication. Many abandon the drug early in Covid, when symptoms tend to be mildest, ignoring the possibility of limiting early viral growth.
"They want wait and see if things get worse, but if you...
As Covid deaths rise to around 1,500 per week, researchers wonder why Paxlovid use has remained low among high-risk patients.
As Covid surges again, killing about 1,500 Americans every week, medical researchers are trying to understand why so few people are taking Paxlovid, an incredibly effective drug for preventing serious illness and death from the disease. Study of a million high-risk people with Covid found that only about 15% of people eligible for the drug were taking it. If instead half of eligible patients in the United States had received Paxlovid during the research period, 48,000 deaths could have been avoided, concluded the authors of the study, led by the National Institutes of Health. /p>< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">It's not because people don't know about this drug – most do – but the reluctance seems to come from doctors worried about interactions with it. other medications and people wary of a possible case of rebound or metal. aftertaste.
Regional differences offer a clue, with adoption higher in Democratic strongholds in the states' Northeast and Pacific Northwest regions -United and lowest in dark red areas, including Florida and Indiana. Yet no comprehensive study has figured out why so few people used the drug, which reduced the risk of death by 73 percent for high-risk patients at the N.I.H. study.
“I don’t know why there is such variability and why adoption is not higher across the board,” said Dr. Josh Fessel, Senior Clinical Advisor. about the National Institutes of Health team that studied the drug's use. “If you can take Paxlovid and you take Paxlovid within the recommended time frame, the risk of death or hospitalization is significantly reduced. It's a big problem. »
Covid deaths have increased since September, at around 1,200 to 1,300 deaths per week, reaching around 1,500 per week in December. Researchers say they will likely continue to rise unless more people receive updated Covid vaccines and antiviral treatments.
Dr. Fessel said that over the entire million-strong N.I.H. study, about 10 percent of high-risk patients eligible for Paxlovid took it, although the rate increased to about 15 percent toward the end of the study period, in early 2023. In total, the N.I.H. the authors estimate that about 135,000 hospitalizations and 48,000 deaths could have been avoided if half of the patients eligible for the antiviral had gotten it.
Paxlovid, manufactured by Pfizer, is a two-drug treatment intended to be taken within five days of the onset of Covid symptoms to stop the spread of the virus in the body. It has been approved for adults who are at high risk for severe Covid, which generally includes people 65 and older and people with diabetes, obesity, asthma and other conditions.
The reasons for not prescribing or taking it are varied: Doctors balk at the long list of drugs not to mix with Paxlovid, including common medicines to lower blood pressure or prevent blood clots. Patients tend to complain about the metallic aftertaste of the medication. Many abandon the drug early in Covid, when symptoms tend to be mildest, ignoring the possibility of limiting early viral growth.
"They want wait and see if things get worse, but if you...
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