U.S. pharmacists can now prescribe COVID pills. Canada should follow suit, experts say
“For instance, during the period following the authority being granted to pharmacists in Quebec, more than 68 per cent of Paxlovid treatments were prescribed by pharmacists,” said Gogo., the antiviral Paxlovid can be given to adults 18 and older who test positive for COVID-19, experiencing mild to moderate illness and are at high risk of becoming seriously ill.
“This is a really helpful drug … it helps people who are at greatest risk from landing in hospital and succumbing to the illness,” Isaac Bogoch, infectious diseases specialist at the Toronto General Hospital, told Global News.Since Paxlovid must be taken within five days after symptoms begin, Bogoch says authorizing pharmacists to prescribe the treatment can help lower the barriers to accessing the drug and help people who need it take it sooner rather than later.
“We have somewhat limited access to diagnostic testing in many parts of the country. Certainly, it’s not even close to what it was before,” said Bogoch.They can look into a patient’s medical history and are equipped to do PCR or rapid testing with a decent turnaround time to confirm if someone is COVID-positive, Bogoch said.
The third and last barrier, Bogoch says, is that Canadians need prescriptions to get Paxlovid, but not everyone has the same degree of access to family physicians.
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