Nearly 600,000 Pfizer Paxlovid courses sit UNUSED in America –

According to official statistics, approximately 600,000 Pfizer Paxlovid’s Covid antiviral pills are currently obsolete on pharmacy shelves.

Data from the US Department of Health revealed that drug stocks are accumulating, reducing the risk of hospitalization of vulnerable people caught in Covid.

Also, 200,000 cycles of AstraZeneca Evusheld’s Covid antibody drug are currently awaiting release, while more than one million doses of Merck’s Lagevrio antiviral pill are available.

White House Chief Medical Advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci has already acknowledged that drug stocks are “underused” across the country.

Experts suggest that very few doctors know that prescription treatments are available.

Behind the low usage rates, they say, are the lack of Covid testing, where many infections are left unconfirmed, and the pills available to very few people.

It came amid a surge in cases in the US, which rose 38% last week. However, hospital admission and death rates remain low.

The federal government has purchased millions of doses of the cure to fight Covid.

Last month, President Joe Biden promised to deliver the drugs for free to anyone who needs them.

But statistics show that while treatments are available nationwide, they don’t reach many Americans.

One of the pills available is Paxlovid, an antiviral pill that works by stopping the virus from multiplying, giving the body time to fight an infection.

It is available by prescription in the United States and takes three tablets twice daily for five days.

It’s also free for Americans, as the federal government pays the $530 bill for each course.

Clinical studies have shown that it reduces hospitalization rates by 89% in at-risk patients who use it within three days of developing Covid symptoms. Some of these patients have been vaccinated.

The drug was approved in December for people over the age of 12 with mild or moderate Covid, who are at risk of contracting the virus.

However, supplies were difficult to find at first, until packages started piling up on the shelves over the past few weeks.

Dr. Ryan Maves, an infectious disease specialist at Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina, warned that several doses were prescribed because doctors didn’t know the pill was available.

NBC News reported, “I think part of the challenge was so early on that there was little supply and getting it was a real challenge.

“But people who care for high-risk patients may not know that it’s much easier to get them now.”

Dr. Paul Sax, an infectious disease specialist at Harvard Medical School, warned that pills are underused and many infections go undiagnosed due to the lack of Covid testing.

He added that the categories of people to be treated are also very narrow, with many being denied drugs that could benefit them.

There were also issues with the launch of Evusheld, which, unlike Paxlovid, targeted immunocompromised patients who had been exposed to Covid but had not yet developed virus symptoms.

Treatment is available by prescription and should usually be given as two injections in each buttock.

Scientists say it can protect against virus infection for up to six months.

It was approved by the FDA in December for immunocompromised people over the age of 12, but again, many doses remained on the shelves.

Janet Handal, who heads an immunosuppressed advocacy group, shared: CNN said many doctors were unaware of this treatment, as was the case with Paxlovid.

“We had people in our group calling their doctor and asking about Evusheld, and they were like, ‘What is this?’ tried,” he said.

Dr. William Schaffner, liaison representative of the National Infectious Diseases Foundation, warned that many doctors are unaware of the treatments as Covid news was confirmed at a time of “avalanche”.

“Nobody knows Evusheld,” he said. “I think it’s very sad.

There has never been a mechanism that says, “Look, listen, we have a new way to protect your immunocompromised patients from Covid, and here’s how to get it for your patients.”

There have also been issues with distribution of Merck’s Lagevrio (the brand name for molnupiravir), which is offered to immunocompromised individuals such as Paxlovid within five days of developing Covid symptoms.

It’s taken in four capsules every 12 hours for five days and is also free for Americans.

Clinical studies show that Lagevrio reduces the risk of hospitalization and death by 30% in patients with at least one factor that puts them at increased risk of Covid, such as being overweight or an underlying condition.

The United States currently has an average of 39,400 Covid cases per day, just over 33,000 recorded a week ago.

But some states like New York have growing epidemics that could be fueled by a new species of Omicron.

The total number of cases in the United States is also believed to be a severe underestimate of the current situation in the field, as many people with Covid symptoms have not been tested.

Hospital admissions in the country currently average around 1,400 per day, almost unchanged from a week ago.

But some districts, including the city of Philadelphia and several universities, are already reporting mask permits amid fears of another wave of cases.