Corona drug Paxlovid in high demand
To prevent severe cases of coronavirus infection, doctors are increasingly prescribing the drug paxlovid. Apparently, after initial reluctance, high-risk patients are now also asking for it themselves.
At first, the tablet from Pfizer was a shelf warmer, but now doctors are prescribing it more and more often: "The number of prescriptions for Paxlovid rose sharply in December, roughly tripling compared to the previous year," said Thomas Preis, head of the North Rhine Pharmacists' Association, to the Düsseldorf newspaper "Rheinische Post". Many patients are actively asking for Paxlovid, which is aimed at older and high-risk patients. It is intended to prevent a severe course of coronavirus infection.
The extension of the expiration date by Pfizer has caused confusion. "As the drug was approved on an accelerated basis, the full length of the shelf life could not be determined immediately," explains Preis. Patients should therefore not be surprised if they receive packs with an expired date. "Packs or blister packs with an expiry date of 11/2022 to 12/2023 printed on them can be used beyond the date printed on them." Pharmacies have lists of how long the respective batch can be kept. "For packs with a printed expiry date from 01/2024, the shelf life extension has already been taken into account and the printed expiry date is correct," said the head of the association.
EMA recommends stockpiling
According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), antiviral drugs such as paxlovid should also remain effective against newer subtypes of the coronavirus. The EMA therefore recommends that EU member states stockpile the medicine for high-risk patients.
Paxlovid could potentially also alleviate the suffering of patients with long-term consequences of a corona infection, "although they were not developed specifically for this disease", explained German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach in September. In some US studies, the drug showed promising effects in some long-Covid patients. However, drugs like these cannot yet be prescribed in Germany because they have not been approved as Long Covid drugs. "We have drugs that work", but they cannot be used in Germany, Lauterbach summarized. This is easier to regulate in other countries such as Sweden, while Germany is lagging behind in this respect.
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Source: www.ntv.de
