Covid-19 drug Paxlovid to be available at 16 more clinics

More Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) will be progressively joining a pilot programme to prescribe the drug Paxlovid to certain Covid-19 patients.

These will be those who are at risk of severe disease and who are assessed by their doctor to be clinically eligible to receive the treatment, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday.

Sixteen more PHPCs will come on board this programme, joining all polyclinics and the 20 PHPCs that are currently in the pilot.

For now, MOH will fully cover the drug cost for Paxlovid use in primary care settings, regardless of a patient's vaccination status.

This is because it can reduce the likelihood of high-risk patients developing severe Covid-19 and requiring hospital admission. "The charging policy for Paxlovid will be reviewed in due course," it added.

Early treatment with Paxlovid may also be considered for Covid-19 patients who meet certain criteria.

They include those who are 18 and older, see a doctor within five days of illness, and are at risk of developing severe disease.

Examples of such patients are those who have active cancer, serious heart conditions or an immunosuppressive condition, or are receiving treatment for it.

"As Paxlovid has potential interactions with many other commonly used medications, the decision to take Paxlovid has to be carefully considered by the primary care doctor, and after discussion with the patients on the benefits and risks," MOH said.