The agency authorized Paxlovid for adult patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 who are also at high risk of becoming more seriously ill.
Hospitalizations continued to rise Monday as
Dr.
The drug could help alleviate pressure on health-care systems by decreasing the number of high-risk people who would require hospitalization, but health officials noted on a conference call Monday that supply would be an issue early on.
Dr.
"A lot of it depends on the initial supply and we all know that the supply isn't going to be great at the start," she said. "For the Omicron wave itself, it may contribute, but it won't be a key contributor to the current wave.
"So it is very much another layer, another tool as we progress over the next month."
Federal Health Minister
News of Paxlovid's authorization came as Canadian students in four provinces returned to in-person learning, though a heavy winter snowstorm in parts of
Students in
Some
The students called for enhanced safety measures in classrooms, better access to masks and an option for online learning.
In
In
"I think the timing of this (authorization) is also very important," she said. "The bottom line is ... it keeps people potentially out of the hospitals."
The prescription medication is meant to be taken at home within five days of the start of symptoms, timing that could prove difficult as
Tam said rapid tests could also be used to determine who might receive Paxlovid.
"You can try and get the PCR test but if it's simply not available or not available fast enough, the rapid antigen test may be used," she said. "That's just a very practical approach."
Tam said provinces and territories will determine how best to use limited supply of the drug, adding that deployment to jurisdictions will be based on a per-capita basis.
She said priority for Paxlovid will be given to those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised and don't mount enough protection against COVID-19 with vaccines; people over the age of 80 whose vaccines are not up to date; and those 60 years and older living in rural or underserved communities including First Nation, Inuit and Métis individuals whose vaccinations are not up to date.
Unvaccinated people also remain at higher risk for severe disease. But Duclos said they shouldn't view Paxlovid as a substitute for vaccination.
"A drug is a treatment," he said. "It's much better not to have to be treated and the best way not to have to be treated is to be vaccinated."
The
Sharma said clinical trials showed treatment with Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalization and death caused by COVID-19 by 89 per cent when the medications were started within three days of the beginning of symptoms, and by 85 per cent when started within five days.
Meanwhile, the
The agency says those who either had no cardiac workup or had normal cardiac investigations can receive the next dose of their vaccine once they are symptom free and at least 90 days has passed since vaccination.
This report by
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