A limited number of doses of Pfizer’s new antiviral, Paxlovid, are now available in Louisiana, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.
Paxlovid, a treatment for COVID-19 which consists of a regiment of two tablets of nirmatrelvir and one tablet of ritonavir, was given Emergency Use Authorization by the Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 22.
The medication is the first oral antiviral to be approved for treatment of COVID-19. It is available by prescription only. The LDH said that the just 740 treatment courses it received are available at a small number of independent pharmacies throughout the state.
The antiviral cut hospitalization and death risk in high-risk COVID-19 patients by nearly 90% in clinical trials, the pharmaceutical company announced in November.
According to the FDA, nirmatrelvir inhibits a SARS-COV-2 protein, which prevents the virus from replicating and ritonavir slows nirmatrelvir’s breakdown so that it remains in the body for longer in higher concentrations.
The treatment is taken twice daily for five days and is used for cases of mild to moderate COVID-19. The FDA recommends that it be initiated as soon after a diagnosis as possible and within five days of the onset of symptoms. The LDH advises that those who think they may be a good candidate for the treatment should contact their physician.
A similar pill created by the pharmaceutical company Merck was also recently approved. The LDH said that it is expected to arrive at pharmacies early next week.
Merck’s pill, Molnupiravir, is significantly less effective at reducing hospitalizations, according to data released by the company. While Pfizer’s most recent data showed that Paxlovid can cut hospitalizations in standard-risk adults by 70%, Merck’s data showed that Molnupiravir cut hospitalizations by 30%.
The LDH said that the initial shipment of Merck’s pill will include 3420 courses of the treatment.
The treatment is not to be considered a replacement for vaccination. Experts encourage individuals to get vaccinated and boosted as soon as eligible.
While three vaccines, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are now fully FDA approved and available in Louisiana, the FDA now recommends Pfizer and Moderna over Jonson & Johnson.
Initial data has shown that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is far less effective against the Omicron variant, which is now the most common variant in the United States.
