inspiring canadians to live better.

healthing leaf

inspiring canadians to live better.

healthing leaf
get healthing in your inbox with the morning checkup and weekender newsletter!
home / 世界杯决赛2022

paxlovid access lacking, immunocompromised calgary woman says

'for somebody in my position, i should probably have the paxlovid even if my symptoms are quite mild'

by jason herring

apr 18 2022
read time 2 minute read
join the conversation
file photo: coronavirus disease (covid-19) treatment pill paxlovid is seen in a box, at misericordia hospital in grosseto, italy, february 8, 2022. reuters/jennifer lorenzini
access to an antiviral drug that significantly reduces risk of severe covid-19 illness is insufficient, says an immunocompromised calgary woman who has had trouble receiving the treatment.
yvette peters tested positive for covid-19 on a home rapid test thursday, and immediately set out to obtain a prescription for paxlovid from the province. she said she confirmed her diagnosis through a provincial pcr test and called the province’s dedicated health link line for accessing the drug, but has been unable to have a prescription filled.
as a breast cancer patient receiving immunosuppressive chemotherapy treatment, peters meets alberta’s current eligibility requirements for being prescribed paxlovid.
paxlovid is an oral drug found in clinical trials to reduce risk of hospitalization or death from the novel coronavirus by nearly 90 per cent if taken within five days of the onset of symptoms.
entering day 5 of her symptoms sunday, peters worried she was running out of time to start the treatment.
“it’s pretty frustrating. it’s causing me some anxiety and a bit more panic, because i read that for somebody in my position, i should probably have the paxlovid even if my symptoms are quite mild,” peters said.
powered by
canadian centre for caregiving excellence

advertisement

“not being able to access anyone who can prescribe it, it’s kind of disappointing.”
though she hasn’t had to go to hospital, peters said her symptoms have worsened since testing positive.
in a statement saturday, alberta health services said it was not aware of eligible albertans having difficulty accessing paxlovid. they advised any albertans who test positive for covid-19 and are eligible for the treatment to call the province’s dedicated health link line at 1-844-343-0971.

the drug is currently available to people with some underlying health conditions, including those who are immunocompromised, as well as older, unvaccinated individuals. full eligibility criteria are available on the ahs website .

paxlovid has gone largely unused in alberta , even as a sixth wave of covid-19 transmission continues in the province.

as of last week, only about 670 paxlovid prescriptions had been filled in alberta since the drug became available at the end of january. more than 16,000 courses of treatment remain in the province’s supply.
calgary public health physician dr. jia hu told postmedia last week he believes more communication work is needed to inform albertans about paxlovid availability. he said there’s no shortage of patients who could have potentially benefitted from the treatment.
powered by
obesity matters

advertisement

“if everyone who was currently eligible for paxlovid had got paxlovid, we would have given out all our doses,” hu said.
— with files from dylan short
jherring@postmedia.com
twitter: @jasonfherring

more news, fewer ads, faster load time:  get unlimited, ad-lite access to the calgary herald, calgary sun, national post and 13 other canadian news sites for just $14/month or $140/year. subscribe now through the  calgary herald  or  calgary sun .

jason herring
jason herring

jason herring is a reporter and editor at the calgary herald and calgary sun, joining the papers in 2019. he graduated from the university of calgary, where he was the editor of the school's student newspaper, the gauntlet. he is an avid cinephile and an amateur crossword puzzle constructor.

read more about the author

comments

postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. we ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. we have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. visit our community guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.