Paxlovid starts in Germany: New corona drug now available in pharmacies - on prescription
Created: 02/24/2022Updated: 02/24/2022, 17:16
The corona drug Paxlovid is now available for pharmacies in Germany.
© Uncredited/Pfizer/dpa
In order to finally bring the corona virus under control, vaccinations are particularly important - but medication should also contribute to this.
In the fight against the corona pandemic, the drug Paxlovid is coming onto the German market.
As the pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced, the first tablets from the distribution center in Karlsruhe went to wholesalers.
One million packs are planned for Germany this year.
In January, the EU medicines agency EMA gave the green light for approval and explained that
the preparation could prevent serious illnesses in adults after a corona infection
.
With the new vaccine from Novavax, the federal government expects the first deliveries to arrive in the second half of the week.
Paxlovid especially for people with pre-existing conditions
Pharmacies can now order Paxlovid from wholesalers based on a doctor's prescription and give it to patients, as a Pfizer spokeswoman said.
The pill is considered to be very effective, especially for people with previous illnesses - they are said to reduce the risk of very serious illnesses by 89 percent.
The fact that the active ingredient nirmatrelvir in the drug inhibits a Sars-CoV-2 protein is intended to stop the multiplication of the corona virus in the body
.
The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) explained that there is now another drug that can prevent serious illness and death in risk patients - in addition to the drug Lagevrio (also known under the name Molnupiravir*) and treatment with monoclonal antibodies.
It can be prescribed from Friday.
The worldwide production and packaging of Paxlovid takes place in Freiburg.
Of the one million packs planned for Germany in 2022, 35 percent are to be delivered in the first half of the year.
One pack is enough for one patient.
Doctors could prescribe the drug and thus protect particularly high-risk patients from severe Covid 19 courses - such as people of old age, with chronic diseases or cancer, said the medical director at Pfizer in Germany, Daniel Kalanovic.
Corona pandemic: drug cannot replace vaccinations
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) generally points to a combination of vaccinations and drug treatment in order to get the corona virus under control in the long term.
"
If we managed to get basic immunization for older, vulnerable people too and if we had drugs like Paxlovid or Molnupiravir or others at hand, then we would be through
," he said in the Federal Council in January.
more on the subject
EMA gives the green light to Pfizer's corona pill
EMA gives the green light to Pfizer's corona pill
Corona: Effective medicines are hard to come by
The delivery process for the Novavax vaccine has started, a ministry spokesman said.
The Paul Ehrlich Institute announced that it had started releasing delivery batches on Tuesday.
According to earlier information, the first deliveries should arrive in the central warehouse of the federal government by this Friday
and then be distributed to the federal states.
The federal government assumes that vaccinations in the federal states can then begin in the coming week.
It is planned that the preparation will only go to the federal states for the time being, not yet to medical practices.
It should be offered primarily to employees in the healthcare sector.
There are hopes that Novavax could be an alternative for some who didn't get vaccinated with previous mRNA vaccines from Biontech and Moderna.
The Novavax vaccine is based on a more classic process.
(dpa) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.