The Directorate of Health has informed that patients with a high risk of serious illness can be offered treatment with Paxlovid if they have been diagnosed with corona. The medicine reduces the risk of serious illness in those with a high risk of becoming seriously ill. It is primarily the elderly who will benefit from the treatment. – The aim of giving Paxlovid is especially to reduce serious illness, but also to reduce the burden on the health service, says assistant health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad. HEALTH DIRECTOR: Nakstad hopes the medicine will reduce serious illness and lift the pressure on the health service. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB It is important to start treatment early The Directorate of Health points out that it is important that the corona medicine is taken into use as early as possible for the best effect. Paxlovid inhibits the coronavirus from replicating itself and spreading in the body, and is therefore most effective if you start the treatment early. In order for the medicine to have a good effect, treatment should start as soon as possible after you get symptoms. If you get respiratory symptoms, it is important that you do not wait, but contact your GP as soon as you can. You should also take a self-test for corona, but contact your doctor if you get a positive or negative result on the test. RELIEF: Nakstad hopes the corona medicine will reduce the burden on the health service. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB Good effect for those who get the sickest Norway has received enough Paxlovid for 25,000 people through the EU’s joint purchasing scheme. This means that there is limited access to the medicine. Among other things, those with severe immune deficiency, chronic illness, diabetes and obesity are among the main groups for whom the medicine is relevant. Patients with a low risk of serious illness, on the other hand, have little benefit from the medicine, and will therefore not be offered the medicine. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer is behind Paxlovid, which is a direct-acting antiviral drug. CEO of Pfizer Albert Bourla has himself said that he used the medicine when he became ill with the corona virus. POSITIVE: With proven coronavirus, you can be offered Paxlovid if you are in the risk group for serious illness. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB The Directorate of Health explains that the medicine reacts with a number of other medicines, which can be vital. Especially those who have transplanted an organ cannot use Paxlovid. The doctor must therefore make an assessment based on the patient’s medication before treatment. But the Norwegian Directorate of Health points out that Paxlovid does not replace a vaccine. – You get the best protection against corona by taking a vaccine. At the same time, we know that someone gets sick from corona, even if they have received several vaccine doses. If you are at high risk and become ill, you can benefit greatly from Paxlovid, writes the Directorate of Health to news. In the fact box below, you can see who the Norwegian Directorate of Health has assessed that Paxlovid is relevant for. Who is the medicine for? The medicine is relevant for two main groups 1. Those with severe immunodeficiency. For example, those with bone marrow cancer or lymph cancer who receive medicines that suppress the immune system. 2. Others with a high risk of serious illness: Age is most important. It is especially those over 65 who will benefit from the medicine. It is also important how long it has been since you received the vaccine. If it has been more than six months since your last vaccination, there is an increased risk of serious illness. In addition, serious chronic diseases matter. Among the most important chronic illnesses in this context are: Active cancer or ongoing/recent treatment for it Serious heart or lung disease Poorly regulated diabetes Severe obesity – body mass index higher than 35 Chronic neurological disease with significant functional impairment Serious mental illness, especially severe schizophrenia Severe dementia Downs syndrome Paxlovid and many common medicines can mutually influence each other’s effects. It is therefore particularly important that the doctor knows about all the medicines you are taking, including over-the-counter medicines and natural preparations – especially St. John’s wort (St. John’s wort). The doctor will assess whether there is a need to change other medicines during treatment with Paxlovid. Use abroad Already in January, the European Union (EU) recommended the use of the medicine against the coronavirus, and several countries, including Italy, Great Britain and the Netherlands, have adopted it. Studies have shown that Paxlovid is more effective in preventing serious illness and death from the coronavirus than other antiviral medicines. A recent study from Johns Hopkins Medicine found that pregnant women can use Paxlovid for corona disease, without increasing the risk of serious side effects. However, the medicine has been criticized in a research report from August, for not being widely available. The report found large differences in access to antiviral medicines in the West and the Global South. “We have asked for more than 3,000 user doses, but we only got 300,” said WHO representative for Somalia Mamunur Rahman Malik in the report. Currently, it is primarily high-income countries that have comprehensive access to the medicine. The price for a Paxlovid treatment in the US costs $530, while in the Netherlands it costs €1,250, according to the NL Times. It is currently unknown what the medicine will cost in Norway.
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Corona medicine can provide effective treatment for the seriously ill – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
