Can I receive oral medication if I am diagnosed with COVID-19? Who is applicable? 2 Must-read drug side effects and medication methods
What oral COVID-19 drugs are currently available in Taiwan? Oral medicines cannot be used as “preventive medicines”?
Recently, the COVID-19 epidemic in Taiwan continues to spread. In addition to vaccination, can we take oral antiviral drugs as preventive drugs? What are the applicable conditions? How to take it? What should I tell my healthcare provider before using the medicine? The Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare, Food and Drug Administration pointed out that Taiwan currently has two oral antiviral drugs for COVID-19 approved by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration for project import (Emergency Use Authorization, EUA), namely “Paxlovid” and “Molnupiravir”.
According to the current EUA approval conditions, these two drugs are not approved for pre-exposure or post-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19, but are used to treat patients with mild/moderate COVID-19 infection and who are at high risk of severe risk factors. It can reduce the risk of patients becoming seriously ill and requiring hospitalization. The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration stated that both of these drugs need to be evaluated by a physician and a comprehensive judgment is made to confirm whether the patient has a medical need before they can be used.
What are the different applicable conditions for the two oral medicines? Where can I get oral medicine for COVID-19?
Taiwan Food and Drug Administration stated that comparing the two oral antiviral drugs, Paxlovid is applicable to patients with confirmed mild to moderate symptoms who are over 12 years old, weigh more than 40 kilograms, are within 5 days of onset of illness, and have no high-risk factors for severe illness requiring oxygen; and Molnupiravir is applicable to patients with confirmed mild to moderate symptoms who are over 18 years old, within 5 days of onset of illness, unable to use other recommended drugs, and without high-risk factors for severe illness requiring oxygen.
Taiwan Food and Drug Administration pointed out that for the process of prescribing and receiving Paxlovid drugs, you can choose to go to the hospital where the drugs are stored, or after remote diagnosis and treatment by a doctor or initial evaluation, contact the core pharmacy or the hospital where the drugs are stored to receive a prescription. There is currently no way to obtain a prescription for Molnupiravir. The institution that issues the prescription must collect the drug from the hospital where the drug is stored, and then provide the drug to the patient.
The four major groups should contact their doctors before taking medicines to be careful of interactions when taking “these medicines”
Taiwan Food and Drug Administration reminds the public that when the illness is mild to moderate after diagnosis, and after a doctor’s diagnosis and treatment, oral antiviral drugs for COVID-19 can be taken, if there are any of the following circumstances, you should take the initiative to discuss with the doctor first, including: allergies Medical history, whether there is a possibility of pregnancy, whether you are breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed, whether you are taking short-term or long-term medications, etc.
According to research, Paxlovid interacts with arrhythmia, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, sedatives, gout and other drugs. Therefore, if people are taking such drugs, they should discuss with their doctor whether they need to adjust the medication or the time of use. To reduce interactions between drugs.
How to take oral medicine for COVID-19? What are the possible side effects?
Taiwan Food and Drug Administration pointed out that the dosage of these two medicines is “twice a day” for a total of 5 days of treatment. They must be swallowed whole and must not be chewed, divided or crushed. There are two tablets in the Paxlovid package. The ingredients are PF-07321332 and Ritonavir. You should take 2 tablets of “PF-07321332” and 1 tablet of “Ritonavir” at a time, for a total of 3 tablets to be taken together; for Molnupiravir, 4 tablets should be taken at a time. .
In terms of adverse reactions, Paxlovid was found to have dysgeusia, diarrhea, hypertension and myalgia in clinical studies; Molnupiravir was observed to have diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, etc. However, the above are all mild symptoms, so people do not need to be too nervous when taking them. If serious discomfort occurs after taking them, they should stop taking the medicine immediately and seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
As for forgetting to take medicine, can I take it again within a limited time? Taiwan Food and Drug Administration recommends that if people forget to take Paxlovid, they should take it as soon as possible within 8 hours after taking the medicine; Molnupiravir should be taken within 10 hours after taking the medicine. If the above time has passed, just take the next dose as usual. There is no need to take a double dose to make up the dose.
The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration advises the public to take medicines as directed by their doctor. Failure to use them properly will affect the expected therapeutic effect. It is worth noting that oral antiviral drugs cannot be sold online, and the public needs to pay special attention to avoid being deceived.
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