Pills to fight COVID-19 gaining ground after slow rollout
Pfizer's antiviral drug, Paxlovid, is gaining in popularity among physicians and their patients, Long Island health experts said. Credit: Alamy Stock Photo/Milos Drndarevic / Alamy Stock Photo
After a slow rollout, two pills from different drugmakers aimed at fighting COVID-19 are gaining in availability and popularity as physicians and patients feel more comfortable with the drugs, health experts said Thursday.
Pfizer's Paxlovid tablets and Merck's molnupiravir capsules are both designed to be taken after infection and can prevent people with significant health risks from growing sicker and filling up hospitals if another virus surge develops.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the pills on an emergency basis in December, and at the time, both were hailed as a potential “game-changer,” but the slow pace from production to market limited availability.
That is starting to change, according to Long Island health experts.
What to know
- Two pills from different drugmakers aimed at fighting COVID-19 are gaining in availability.
- The FDA approved the pills on an emergency basis in December but the slow pace from production to market limited availability.
- Both are designed to be taken after infection and can prevent people with significant health risks from growing sicker and filling up hospitals if another virus surge develops.
“I’d say it’s much more than before but it’s not nearly as widespread as I thought it would be,” said Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of public health and epidemiology for Northwell Health, of the two pharmaceuticals.
Pharmacies on Long Island are increasingly dispensing the pills, which are available at no cost with a valid prescription from a health care provider.
The increased use of the pills comes as COVID-19 indicators are ticking up steadily on Long Island and throughout New York State.
The seven-day average for positivity on Long Island has more than doubled in the past month, jumping from 1.52% on March 9 to 3.49% in results Wednesday.
The number of new confirmed daily cases on Long Island on Wednesday jumped to 794, compared to 264 on March 9.
In the latest results, Nassau County had 466 new cases and Suffolk County had 328. That compares to 119 in Nassau and 145 in Suffolk on March 9.
Experts said the most recent numbers are likely an undercount since a growing number of people are using at-home tests, which are not included in the state count.
New York State now gauges the rate of positivity by lab-reported PCR tests. The change followed a move by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, as of this past Monday, to no longer require testing facilities that use rapid tests to report negative results.
The increase in Long Island cases is being driven by the BA.2 subvariant, an offshoot of the omicron variant that it has replaced as the dominant strain of COVID-19.
Farber said he does not believe another surge like the record-breaking one fueled by omicron in January is likely soon. But he is still watching with concern as the numbers quickly tick up.
Paxlovid is authorized for use by adults and children ages 12 and older weighing at least 88 pounds. Molnupiravir can be prescribed to those 18 and older.
Dr. Alan Bulbin, director of infectious disease at Catholic Health St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center in Roslyn, said he supports the usage of the pills and has been prescribing them to his patients.
The pills must be started no later than five days after a positive result for COVID-19, and preferably within three days, Farber and Bulbin said.
Farber stressed that doctors prescribing the pills must make sure there will be no adverse effect with a patient's other medications.
“That’s the real problem with it," Farber said, "otherwise it is tolerated pretty well and it works pretty well and it’s somewhat of a game-changer in the treatment of high-risk individuals who get COVID but are not sick enough to be in the hospital."
The pills are not always available at local pharmacies. Bulbin said that on Thursday he used a New York State tracking website to locate the closest pharmacy with Paxlovid in stock.
Farber said that in the past, the pills' lack of availability had been a deterrent for both physicians and patients — though the situation is improving.
“You didn’t know which drugstore had it at any given time, and it would come and go,” he said. “Now it has opened up and it is available.”
He said that while anyone in the approved age group is eligible to get Paxlovid, it probably is not needed for a healthy younger person if they are vaccinated.
Both Farber and Bulbin stressed that the pills are in no way a substitute for getting vaccinated — that remains the best way to fight COVID-19.
