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ARCHIVED - Pfizer antiviral Covid pills hit the market in Spain
The oral treatment should be available in hospitals across Spain from next week
The promising anti-Covid medication Paxlovid developed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is set to arrive in Spain in the coming days, as the Ministry of Health has signed an agreement for their delivery on Thursday March 24. The government announced that the antiviral pills would be joining the coronavirus battle back in January, when it ordered a batch of 350,000, and from next week, the drugs will be available to treat infected patients in hospitals across the country.
The pills are designed to be administered in the first days of infection to patients with mild symptoms of coronavirus and have been shown to reduce hospitalisations of people at risk by up to 90%. According to Pfizer, Paxlovid is effective against the Omicron variant and the treatment “has the potential to maintain plasma concentrations much higher than the amount necessary to prevent omicron from replicating in cells.”
You might also like: Spanish antiviral medication reported to have 100% success in treating Covid
How does Paxlovid work?
The oral treatment works by combining two substances: nirmatrelvir, which is designed to block the replication of coronavirus in human cells by inhibiting the enzyme protease and ritonavir, whose function it is to increase the duration of effectiveness.
Minor side effects have been associated with the drug, such as dysgeusia (a taste disorder), diarrhoea and vomiting. In addition, Paxlovid is not recommended for patients with severely reduced kidney or liver function, or for pregnant women.
Now read: How to get a Covid passport and How to make an appointment for a vaccination or booster jab in Spain.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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