Paxlovid: Bahrain doctors say new Covid-19 drug will save high-risk patients – The National

Paxlovid: Bahrain doctors say new Covid-19 drug will save high-risk patients – The National

An anti-viral Covid-19 drug approved for emergency use in Bahrain has been hailed a "major breakthrough" in the country's fight against the pandemic.

Pfizer’s paxlovid was registered by authorities last month and is viewed by doctors as key to supporting patients at high risk of suffering serious complications.

The pill is taken orally and, if given to patients in the first five days of illness, has been shown to cut hospitalisations by 89 per cent. It is a combination of Pfizer’s investigational antiviral PF-07321332 and a low dose of ritonavir, an antiretroviral medication traditionally used to treat HIV.

Bahraini medics are preparing for the drug to be delivered to the country in order to begin treating patients.

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After two years into the pandemic this is a major breakthrough, and we are now looking at how we can prevent complications

Dr Jaleela Alsayed Jawad, National Task Force for Combatting Coronavirus, Bahrain

Viral treatments, like GSK’s sotrovimab – successfully introduced in the UAE last year – and molnupiravir from Merk, have armed medics with additional weapons to treat the virus.

But vaccines and regular boosters are the most effective options to help nations pull out of the pandemic, said Dr Jaleela Alsayed Jawad, chief executive of Primary Health Care