Haldimand Norfolk’s acting medical officer of health says it’s important that vulnerable members of the community are aware of an effective oral anti-viral treatment for COVID-19.
Dr. Matt Strauss said Paxlovid, made by Pfizer, is given to people who are COVID-19 positive within five days of their symptoms appearing.
“Most people who get COVID-19 are not candidates for the treatment,” Strauss said during a news conference Friday morning. “It’s only for high-risk individuals.”
Strauss pointed to the results of a recent trial, published in late February in the New England Journal of Medicine, where no deaths resulted from 1,120 high-risk individuals who were given Paxlovid. But there were 12 deaths out of 1,126 people who were given a placebo, he said.
“We don’t see medicines like this very often that drive the death rate to zero,” said Strauss, adding that it appears to cut hospitalizations by about 90 per cent, “which is an absolute game changer.”
Strauss said the drug is limited to people who are significantly immunosuppressed, on immunosuppressive medicines because of an autoimmune disorder, transplant, or are receiving chemotherapy. Rare congenital causes of immunosuppression, untreated or late-stage HIV or AIDS are also considered high-risk and should be assessed for treatment.
Additionally, people are potentially high-risk if they meet two of the following three circumstances: over the age of 70; not up to date on vaccinations; or have other medical problems or pregnancy.
“If you are an immunosuppressed person in our community and you get COVID-19, and it’s within five days of symptoms onset, I need you to find a way to get this medicine,” Strauss urged.
The availability for Paxlovid is currently limited to St. Joseph’s Health Care in Hamilton and St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener.
Strauss said that, while people can self-refer for the treatment, it’s better if they are referred by a physician.
“If you don’t have a physician, if you call the public health unit I will refer you,” he said. “I would ask all of the community, if you know someone who is potentially high risk who can’t make it to Hamilton or Kitchener to get this medicine, please offer to drive them.”
Strauss said that anyone who fits the criteria and gets COVID-19 should get Paxlovid after they are assessed by a physician and tested at an assessment centre.
“Paxlovid prevents the virus from replicating. It kills the virus.”
He said the drug must be administered early because mortality and morbidity from COVID-19 are caused by your body’s response to it.
“In the first week, the virus is replicating and ramping up your immune system,” he noted. “It’s in the second week, when your immune system has lost its mind, that’s when people get admitted to hospital.
“We want to kill the virus in those first few days before it gets active. The vaccine itself does not kill virus. It teaches your immune system to kill virus.”
Ontario is expected to receive 40,000 courses of treatment per month for the foreseeable future. Strauss said he believes the goal is for Paxlovid to eventually be available at community pharmacies.
“I understand that the province is trying to distribute it to our community, and I am actively lobbying for them to do that faster,” he said.
“I hope I’ll be able to announce in the coming days it’ll be available in our community.”
Those who qualify can access treatment by contacting St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener at www.smgh.ca/patients-visitors/covid-19-information or St. Joseph’s Health Care in Hamilton at www.stjoes.ca/coronavirus/covid- care-clinic