![]() ![]() I myself am low-risk for severe Covid-19 but recently took Paxlovid to shorten the length of my illness and keep some important plans - and I’m hearing about lots of peers who’ve either done or prescribed the same. I sometimes did so when I practiced as a physician if there was good evidence to suggest a drug’s benefit in a certain patient outweighed its risk. And while the medication has interactions with lots of other drugs, which makes prescribing it a little tricky, my colleague doesn’t take any other medications.īut doctors prescribe medications off-label (that is, for indications other than the ones they’re approved for) all the time. She’s in her 30s, with no risk factors for severe infection. And my colleague is not in that category. Yes, the drug is technically Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for treating infection only in people at high risk for being hospitalized or dying as a result of Covid-19 infection, that is, those over 65 or with certain chronic medical conditions. ![]() Hearing her story, I wondered if withholding Paxlovid had really been the right call. ![]() What followed, frankly, sucked: She was so sick, and her recovery took so long, that she ultimately delayed the trip by a week, causing significant disruption to her schedule and her life. Her doctor said no - she wasn’t in the typical group for which the drug was recommended, she was told. It’s currently the most effective antiviral medication on the market for treating and reducing the severity of outpatient Covid infections. She really wanted to make it.īut the infection hit her hard, and on day two of her symptoms, she asked her doctor if she could get a prescription for Paxlovid. She was scheduled to board a cross-country flight the following week, with important meetings in two cities on her schedule. A few weeks ago, a colleague of mine got Covid-19. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |