Why do doctors keep telling me “Oh I don’t think you’d need paxlovid!”?? (hexbear.net)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I’m sick and came to the doctor to get tested for covid, strep, and flu, since those are going around my work. I asked the doctor if I could get paxlovid if the covid test was positive, and he goes “Oh I don’t think you’d need it”

Motherfucker almost everyone who catches covid should be fucking taking it wtf is wrong with you. Oh I’m young and otherwise healthy? Yeah and I’d like to fucking stay that way thank you very much, and I’ll take any reduction in the chance of becoming permanently disabled.

Also of the medical professionals I saw today, they were only wearing surgical masks, not N95s and I can’t comprehend it. Why in the hell would you go into the room of a likely covid case not wearing an N95 are you insane?

I’m so fucking sick of being the only person in this entire town that’s actually worried about catching this disease, even the fucking doctors don’t care anymore. I work in a research facility attached to a hospital and when I go to the food court and shit at best like 1/25 people are wearing masks. In a hospital.

Thank you Mr Joe Brandon for ending the pandemic, you’ve truly cemented your place among history’s greatest killers.

covid-cool biden-harbinger

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[-] [email protected] 8 points 2 years ago

With respect, you are not a doctor. You have no concept of how complex the decisions are around prescribing medications. Do you know the number needed to treat vs number needed to harm for Paxlovid?. Do you have any idea what the drug does and in which populations it has been studied?

You're young and healthy. You don't need Paxlovid. End of story. It's only indicated for over 70s / immunosuppressed / significant cardiorespiratory comorbidity to prevent hospitalisation and death. The decision of whether ir not to prescribe a drug is more complex and nuanced that "I have virus, give me virus pill". Do you really think your doctor has never heard of long COVID?

It is not just some magic pill to be thrown around "just in case" to young healthy people anxious about rare complications.

Every time you prescribe it you roll the dice. You might be selecting for a strain that is resistant to Paxlovid. You might have an unwanted side effect or allergy. You might have picked up the last pack from your local pharmacy which means the 80 year old diabetic with a kidney transplant can't get it.

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[-] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

From what I'm aware of, Paxlovid isn't approved under the FDA normally but rather under emergency authorization which means some pretty big limitations on how it can be prescribed.

Now it's an absurdity that they haven't fast tracked the approval process but that's the main issue at least.