Who can expect to get the COVID-19 antiviral pill in B.C., and how many will be available?
There's another tool in the fight against COVID-19 and B.C.'s top doctor said it will help prevent more serious illness if it's given to people early on.
Health Canada authorized the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid Monday, and it's the first oral and at-home prescription medication to be cleared for use in the country.
In a news conference Tuesday, Dr. Bonnie Henry said the antiviral treatment is designed specifically for individuals at the highest risk of developing more severe illness and ending up in hospital.
"It includes those people in our community who are over age 70, clinically extremely vulnerable, immune compromised and for younger people who have additional medical conditions and don’t have the protection of vaccines."
Henry said B.C. can expect a limited supply of 4,000 treatment doses within the next few weeks.
The prescription-only medication must be started within five days of the onset of symptoms.
Henry added that the province is working with its clinical care advisory team to distribute the treatment where it can be the most effective.
"This is very good news. It's not going to change the trajectory of our pandemic right now but it's another tool to help those people who are more at-risk of ending up in hospital," she said.
University of British Columbia associate professor and drug safety researcher Mahyar Etminan said the treatment should not be viewed as a magic bullet.
"We don’t really have any data on children or healthy adults," he said. "So primarily, it was studied in adults who had COVID symptoms and had one other medical condition."
Etminan said the efficacy numbers being shared by the company for the treatment also need to be put in perspective.
"Unfortunately, the way they presented the data is this relative risk reduction metric, which tends to sort of overestimate the efficacy," he said, and noted Pfizer has reported an 88 per cent reduction of either hospitalization or death relative to the placebo group.
"In absolute numbers, it’s about a six per cent benefit...if 16 such participants took the drugs, one would benefit."
Etminan said roughly a thousand adults were part of the Pfizer study that received the antiviral combination, which helps prevent the replication of COVID in the body. He said a similar number were given a placebo.
"It’s also important to know that the data we have is data provided by the company," he said. "We still don’t have any peer-reviewed data from this study."
Etminan said based on the available data, "it seems like it should really be intended for adults who are at a high-risk of morbidity or dying from COVID."
"It comes down to risk versus benefits," he said. "It seems from the data we have that that sort of demographic would, right now at least, benefit the most from this drug."
Two additional vaccines, Medicago and Novavax, continue to be under review by Health Canada.
"We were hoping (Novavax) would be approved sometime in January, but it looks like it's more likely to be in February and Medicago may be as early as the end of January or February," Henry said.
"So I think that's important for those people who have made that determination that the mRNA vaccines that we have, and are holding out for something else. It's not going to be available to help you through this wave. But it is an additional option that will be coming, we hope, in the near future."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.
Australian police arrest 7 alleged teen extremists linked to stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church
Australian police arrested seven teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology in raids across Sydney on Wednesday, as a judge extended a ban on social media platform X sharing video of a knife attack on a bishop that started the criminal investigation.