Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill could have real impact in Canada — if we can roll it out fast enough – CBC
Logistical issues, speed in prescribing and real-world data still need to be sorted out
Jan 18, 2022
After Canada approved a new treatment for COVID-19, Pfizer’s highly effective oral therapeutic Paxlovid, experts are hopeful the highly sought after pill can help control a devastating Omicron-driven surge — if it’s rolled out fast enough.
“I think it will be an effective tool in high-risk individuals if they can get tested quick enough to be able to be in the window for therapeutic benefit,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious diseases physician and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore.
“If you can get it to people fast enough to keep them from needing hospitalizations, then that basically solves the major problem that we’re facing.”
But questions remain as to whether the provinces and territories will be able to get the drug out to sick, vulnerable Canadians within the recommended five-day window, helping to ease the pressure on hospitals until current COVID-19 levels subside.
