A new study explores why many vulnerable patients weren’t prescribed Paxlovid and other antiviral medications after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Their analysis in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that 20% of those patients turned down the drugs when they were offered. In other cases, doctors demurred because their patients had experienced COVID-19 symptoms for more than five days, beyond the recommended window for getting Paxlovid. The CDC urges doctors to treat high-risk patients within five days rather than waiting for their symptoms to worsen. Monach said that some Veterans Health Administration patients who weren’t offered the drugs had gone home before their coronavirus test results had been returned.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 25, 2024 23:08 UTC