As Covid-19 cases continue to fluctuate and as vaccination in the country is still at its slow pace, Go Negosyo chairperson Joey Concepcion suggested stocking up on antiviral medicines.
In the Philippines, only two antiviral medicines are being used: Molnupiravir and Paxlovid, and sadly, its supply has been unsteadied, especially with the number of Covid cases rising in recent weeks.
Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) and molnupiravir (Lagevrio) are two oral antiviral treatments that are authorized to treat mild to moderate Covid-19. These Covid-19 pills are only recommended for people with a high risk of developing severe illness.
“Antivirals are a way forward considering how vaccinations are going right now and how we have seen cases come and go. We need to bring in antiviral medicines to build up our defenses against Covid,” Concepcion said.
“We need to have antivirals available. Antivirals work if you take them early enough in the illness, and if we prevent people from getting severe illness and being hospitalized or dying, we can learn to manage Covid even as cases go up,” he said.
Further, he said the same planning needs to be done with the bivalent vaccines which can target both the original strain of the Covid virus and the highly contagious Omicron variant.