, Paxlovid can be given to adults 18 and older who are positive for COVID-19 and experiencing mild to moderate illness and are at high risk of becoming seriously ill.
The treatment, which has to be prescribed, involves taking three pills of two different drugs — nirmatrelvir and ritonavir — twice a day, for five days. It should be started after a positive COVID-19 test and within five days from the onset of symptoms, according to Goyal. She said COVID-19 has been surging again across Canada, despite cases being undercounted due to the limited PCR testing in most provinces. There were more than 212,000 active cases across the country as of April 20,For that reason, Goyal said it’s important for immunocompromised people to plan ahead and get a kidney function test beforehand to know what dose of Paxlovid they’d need when they get sick.
On April 12, Dr. Tam said Canadians who may be at high risk need figure out how to access Paxlovid in their community should they need it because it’s a bit different in each province and territory.The federal government has distributed about 150,000 courses of Paxlovid across the country, Tam said. Most of the provinces have a centralized distribution system for the drug, often through hospitals and assessment centres. Eligibility varies across the country.