The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has formally allowed pharmacists to prescribe the drug Paxlovid to eligible COVID-19 patients.
The federal agency issued a press release Wednesday to announce that it has allowed state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid to people infected with SARS-CoV-2 and at high risk for severe illness.
“The FDA recognizes the important role pharmacists have played and continue to play in combatting this pandemic. Since Paxlovid must be taken within five days after symptoms begin, authorizing state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid could expand access to timely treatment for some patients who are eligible to receive this drug for the treatment of COVID-19,” said Patrizia Cavazzoni, MD, the director for the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
The announcement updates the guidance the agency previously issued for Pfizer’s antiviral drug. Before only licensed doctors, nurses, and physician assistants were allowed to prescribe Paxlovid to patients. With the update, the FDA recognizes the role of pharmacists in the fight against the pandemic.
“Pharmacists have been very important partners in COVID, and we can now extend safe access and timely access to patients who may not be able to get the drug before. It’s really about the patients, and this is a great thing for them,” University of California-San Francisco School of Pharmacy clinical professor Katherine Yang, PharmD, MPH, told Health.
Paxlovid is an oral antiviral of 30 pills to be taken over five days. Authorized for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 with a high risk for severe illness, the drug is to be administered as soon as possible after a diagnosis or within five days after symptoms appear.
FDA’s announcement comes weeks after Pfizer admitted that its drug is not as effective in treating patients with low risk for severe COVID-19 infection. A study published in April found that the pill did not help alleviate the symptoms in healthier patients with a lower risk of hospitalization and death.
“The study shows the challenge of demonstrating a benefit of antiviral therapy in previously vaccinated or otherwise low-risk individuals,” Paul Sax, the clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, told Time.