The two COVID-19 antiviral medications began to arrive at pharmacies across Georgia the first week of 2022, and one local medical expert said she is hopeful that these pills will help in the fight against the virus amid a new wave of cases.
Dr. Supriya Mannepalli, director of infectious disease at Northeast Georgia Health System, said the Molnupiravir and Paxlovid pills are intended to prevent those with mild symptoms from progressing to a severe case of COVID-19.
“I think it’s really exciting news to have more treatment options available in the outpatient setting, especially for those patients who are at high risk of progression to severe disease or dying from COVID-19 infection, you really want to intervene as early as possible after symptom onset,” Dr. Mannepalli said.
As of the last report from the Georgia Department of Public Health, the only pharmacy in northeast Georgia which will be receiving a supply of the medications is the Walmart Pharmacy on Shallowford Road in Gainesville.
“I really hope the supply will improve, because then we can really, really reduce the hospitalizations among the high-risk patients,” Dr. Mannepalli said.
Dr. Mannepalli said doctors will prescribe the pills for use within the first five days of onset of symptoms following a positive COVID-19 test.
“It really is for those who have mild to moderate disease who are not sick enough to be in the hospital, which means their oxygen saturation is normal,” Dr. Mannepalli said.
Dr. Mannepalli said Paxlovid has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death in high-risk patients by 88% when started within five days of symptom onset. However, she said the Molnupiravir was shown in studies to reduce that same risk by about 30%.
Dr. Mannepalli said NGHS has worked out a new treatment algorithm due to the varying efficacies between the two medications.
For more information on the pills, listen to the above interview.
