Who can receive Paxlovid? How early does the infection have to be? What are the side effects?

Good morning, Madam,

I refer you to this link to see the eligibility criteria for Paxlovid for Quebec citizens who have COVID and are at risk of complications.

I am copying and pasting the relevant section:

- be an adult with moderate to severe immunosuppression due to an underlying condition or treatment of the same (regardless of vaccination status)

- 60 years of age or older, not adequately vaccinated (less than 2 doses) or not protected against COVID-19;

- 18 years of age or older, not adequately vaccinated (less than 2 doses) or not protected against COVID-19, and have any of the following conditions:

o hemoglobinopathy,

o obesity with a body mass index greater than or equal to 35

o uncontrolled diabetes,

o moderate chronic renal failure,

o mild to moderate hepatic impairment

o uncontrolled hypertension,

o cardiovascular and atherosclerotic disease,

o chronic respiratory disease (e.g. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or moderate to severe asthma);

- be a pregnant woman and have at least one condition listed above and be inadequately vaccinated (less than 2 doses) or unprotected against COVID-19, after discussion with a pharmacist or the health care professional following the pregnancy

- be an adolescent weighing at least 40 kg (88 lbs) with at least one condition listed above and not adequately vaccinated (less than 2 doses) or not protected against COVID-19, after discussion with a medical specialist or experienced health care worker

- exceptionally, be an adequately protected or vaccinated adult at very high risk of complications from COVID-19 (e.g., very advanced age, multiple comorbidities from the above list, especially if uncontrolled, and poor protection against the circulating variant despite a complete vaccination regimen), after discussion with a medical specialist or experienced health care worker

Basically, if the person has symptoms and a positive test, they should call their pharmacy (not come in) for a consultation tailored to their condition.

Paxlovid is usually very well tolerated but has a high risk of interactions and the dose needs to be adjusted for certain populations. In such cases, the pharmacist will take care of transmitting all personalized information on a case-by-case basis.

We'd love to!

Tom Samaha, pharmacist