THE Covid-19 anti-viral drug, Paxlovid, will be given to elderly patients and to patients with various comorbidities and the immunocompromised, Khairy Jamaluddin said today. 

The health minister said that besides this group, patients who are given a score of three and above will be given priority to take the anti-viral drug. 

“The Covid-19 patients at the Covid-19 Assessment Centre (CAC) and public hospitals will be screened and evaluated by medical officers and given a total score to predetermine their criteria before starting the Paxlovid anti-viral treatment. 

“Patients given a score of three and above will be given priority for the anti-viral treatment. 

“The priority of the treatment will be given to elderly patients and patients with various comorbidities and the immunocompromised,” Khairy said at a press conference in Parliament today. 

Khairy said the Paxloid drug will be used in the treatment of Covid-19 patients who are aged 18 and above, those infected who are in Category 2 and 3, patients that do not require oxygen therapy and finally patients who are at high-risk of getting severe Covid-19 symptoms.

He said that the anti-viral drug should be started within five days of symptoms to achieve optimal effectiveness. 

“Patients receiving this medication must ensure that it is taken according to the recommended dose of two times daily for a period of five days,” Khairy said. 

Khairy said that the ministry has obtained a total of 104,700 boxes of the paxlovid anti-viral drug, with each patient needing one box each. 

Paxlovid was approved by the Drug Control Authority (PBKD) on March 3 and was given a conditional approval to be used for the treatment of Covid-19. 

The drug has two active ingredients, PF07321332/Nirmatrelvir and Ritonavir in the preparation of the two different tablets. 

It acts to reduce the replication capacity of the SARS-Cov-2 enabling the body’s immune system to fight the infection. 

Khairy stressed that the usage of the Paxlovid anti-viral drug is not a replacement for Covid-19 vaccine. 

On the delivery of the first phase of Paxlovid, Khairy said the drug arrived in the country on April 9 and that the first batch could accommodate treatment for 48,000 patients. 

“So far, deliveries have been made to 14 hospitals in every state except Sabah and Sarawak, which were sent to the respective state pharmaceutical logistics stores. 

“Deliveries to Sabah and Sabah will be done tomorrow. 

“All these deliveries involve 481 CACs and government clinics and 15 public hospitals,” Khairy added. – April 14, 2022.