Paxlovid: Corona drug helped Karl Lauterbach – but doctors hardly ever prescribe it
Created: 08/31/2022 05:02
By: Martina Lippl
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (archive photo) calls for greater use of the antiviral corona drug Paxlovid.
© imago
Karl Lauterbach took it and so did Joe Biden: Paxlovid can prevent severe corona courses.
In Germany, the drug hardly plays a role.
Berlin – Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is persistently promoting the corona drug Paxlovid.
"The symptoms are still mild.
I take Paxlovid to avoid complications," the 59-year-old tweeted in early August.
Lauterbach was infected with the corona virus despite the fourth vaccination.
His announcement was promptly followed by reactions.
The Minister of Health was even accused of lobbying for the pharmaceutical industry.
Many others, on the other hand, were outraged because their doctor had refused them the drug.
Corona drug: Paxlovid can save lives – also available in Germany
The drug Paxlovid inhibits virus replication in corona infected people.
Timely therapy reduces the risk of a severe course of the disease, doctors are now convinced of that.
In Germany, doctors have so far only been reluctant to prescribe Paxlovid, unlike in the USA, the drug from the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is becoming a slow seller.
The expiry date for 280,000 packs should expire in February 2023, according to a response from the Ministry of Health to a parliamentary question from the CSU in August.
"Murdering sore throat" because of Corona: This is how Paxlovid worked on Karl Lauterbach
Karl Lauterbach has since recovered from Covid-19.
"The second day I had a murderous sore throat," Lauterbach tells
Der Spiegel
.
He also had a high fever and chills.
“In order to shorten the symptoms and avoid long-term effects and also to set a good example” he took the corona drug and swallowed 30 tablets within five days.
The effect of the antiviral agent: "After 24 hours I was even able to work again," said Lauterbach, according to the news magazine.
The 59-year-old, like other patients, temporarily felt a metallic taste in his mouth.
Paxlovid – antiviral corona drug
Paxlovid is a combination of the active substances nirmatrelvir and ritonavir.
Niramtrelvir is a so-called protease inhibitor that inhibits viral replication.
The corona drug from the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer has been approved in Europe and thus also in Germany by the European Medicines Agency EMA since January 2022.
Lauterbach repeatedly calls for the Paxlovid to be used more quickly in Germany as well.
"It's something we have to do because it would save a lot of lives," Lauterbach said during a visit to Washington in mid-July.
Before the threatening Corona autumn of 2023, the antiviral agent should become a second pillar alongside vaccination.
General practitioners can have the drug in stock in their practice from mid-August and give it directly to corona patients.
Prescribing has become easier and can also be done over the phone.
A regulation should also be remunerated with 15 euros.
Intensive care physicians for stronger Pavloxid use
Intensive care physicians are also in favor of increasing the administration of Paxlovid in order to prevent severe Covid diseases and thus relieve the burden on clinics in Germany.
"I actually believe that the stronger treatment with this drug could contribute to fewer corona patients with a severe course having to be treated in intensive care units," said the President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi), Gernot Marx, the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Marx emphasized that the study data indicated that the administration of Paxlovid, especially at the beginning of an infection, could prevent a severe course.
"If treatment with the drug is indicated and the patient wants it, doctors should do it more than before," said the doctor.
Paxlovid: Why do general practitioners still prescribe it so rarely?
In Germany, the preparation has so far been prescribed with caution, said Stefan Kluge, director of the clinic for intensive care at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf at the request of the dpa news agency at the beginning of August.
One reason for this is probably the fact that Paxlovid interacts with many other drugs.
The intake should be checked carefully by a doctor.
As
Der Spiegel
reports, a computer tool is being planned that general practitioners can use to provide information about possible interactions between Plaxlovid and other medications.
In addition, Lauterbach commissioned the Federal Government’s Corona Expert Council to draw up an expert opinion on Paxlovid and other antiviral drugs.
The main question is who should actually be prescribed this corona drug.
There are probably different views on this.
The so-called rebound effect with Paxlovid has long been known.
But the rare phenomenon in connection with US President Joe Biden (79) attracted attention.
Biden has been treated with the antiviral Covid drug.
The therapy worked, but after four days Biden tested positive for Corona again.
(ml/dpa/AFP)
