The first delivery of 800 single-dose containers of Paxlovid, Pfizer’s anti-COVID drug, arrived in Tuscany in February. The antiviral, designated only for high-risk persons testing positive, can be taken at home.
Paxlovid, designed to prevent more severe symptoms and hospitalizations, in research trials has proven to be effective in 90% of cases. The treatment requires a physician’s prescription, and the normal course of treatment is five days.
Tuscan Regional Council President, Eugenio Gianni comments, “This is excellent news. It is an innovative and useful drug, which however does not replace the vaccine, which remains the principal tool for preventing the virus.”
Paxlovid, currently the only oral anti-viral approved by European health authorities, should be administered as soon as possible after a positive test, with a maximum usage of five days from onset of symptoms. The medication works by serving to retard the replication of Coronavirus in the patient.
Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, head of Italy’s vaccine implementation campaign, signed a contract with the American pharmaceutical company for 600,000 treatment doses to be distributed immediately to all regions of Italy in 2022.
To read more in Italian, visit Florence’s La Repubblica news site. (rita kungel)
