Second anti-Covid drug to be available next week

Pfizer’s anti-Covid medication Paxlovid will be available to high-risk patients starting next week, Alternate Health Minister Mina Gaga said Tuesday.

Nonetheless, Gaga added that vaccination provides much better protection, preventing – to some extent – the spread of the illness, and is a much cheaper option for the Greek state, which covers the entire cost of both vaccines and medications.

There is already another medication in the market, Lagevrio, made by pharmaceuticals firm Merck. The criteria for giving Paxlovid will be similar: The recipient must belong to a high-risk group determined by age and underlying medical condition, must have tested positive for Covid and must have experienced symptoms for no longer than three days.

In contrast to Lagevrio, there is no need for the patient’s consent because Paxlovid, a more effective drug, has already been approved by the EU.