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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A summer time surge of COVID-19 is hitting the Sooner State, however medication like Paxlovid are making it much less daunting than surges up to now.
This week, the FDA cleared the best way for pharmacists to prescribe the drug, making it simpler than ever to get.
Oklahoma physicians are dealing with one more COVID-19 surge however not like years previous, this time they’ve one other instrument of their toolbox.
“These drugs are actually very effective,” mentioned Dr. Dale Bratzler, with OU Health, referencing Paxlovid. “It was 85% effective in treating hospitalization and death. We didn’t have that a year ago, so that makes it easier to take care of these patients.”
He says it’s now the commonest outpatient therapy his hospital system is utilizing for COVID-19 in high-risk sufferers.
“A young person who has no underlying risk factors, is otherwise healthy, particularly if they’re vaccinated, the risk of complications from COVID-19 are quite small,” Bratzler mentioned. “So we don’t usually treat those people.”
While it’s a sport changer in stopping hospitalization and dying for these in danger, know there’s an opportunity of what’s being referred to as the “Paxlovid rebound,” one thing that’s impacted Dr. Anthony Fauci in addition to two of Bratzler’s sufferers.
“They both said I felt better really quick when I started taking Paxlovid and then 7-8 days later, after they were already done with the course of Paxlovid, they started having symptoms again and tested positive again,” mentioned Bratzler.
Thankfully, Bratzler says most rebound signs are fairly gentle.
“It’s unclear exactly what happens,” Bratzler mentioned. “It can be, perhaps in some people, that five days of treatment isn’t quite enough to get rid of the virus.”
A fast search on-line reveals most OKC-metro Walmart pharmacies have Paxlovid in inventory.
It does have interactions with fairly just a few medication, although, so you’ll want to focus on every part you’re taking along with your physician or pharmacist.
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