COVID pill to be available to eligible Sask. residents starting Wednesday

Saskatchewan is set to make the antiviral COVID-19 pill available to eligible residents.

In a media release Tuesday, the provincial government said Paxlovid — the only COVID pill approved so far by Health Canada — would be available to eligible recipients starting Wednesday.

Paxlovid is designed to treat symptomatic COVID after a positive test, not to prevent it. It stops the virus from multiplying in the body, thereby helping people with lower immunity fight the infection and prevent hospitalization.

“Paxlovid is only being provided to eligible patients through referral by HealthLine 811,” the government said in its release. “Do not visit your family physician or pharmacy to request this medication.”

The pill is recommended only for adults over the age of 18 who:

• are symptomatic and within five days of developing symptoms;
• test positive (PCR or rapid test) for mild or moderate COVID-19;
• do not have any medical conditions that would make treatment inappropriate, and meet one of the following criteria:  Are immunocompromised, regardless of vaccine status; are 55 and older, and not fully vaccinated; or have a medical condition that puts them at high risk and are not fully vaccinated.

Only 900 courses have been received from the federal government, but more are expected. Pills have been sent to select pharmacies across Saskatchewan and are to be given to eligible residents only after they’ve received a referral from HealthLine.

Access to the pill for people in First Nations and Metis communities has been arranged through Indigenous Services Canada.

The provincial government reminded people that while it supports treatments such as Paxlovid and monoclonal antibodies for some, “vaccination remains the best tool available to prevent hospitalizations and death due to COVID-19.”

Everyone aged five and over is eligible to get their first and second doses, and everyone 18 and over is eligible to receive booster shots.

According to the government, more than 70,000 vaccination appointments are available through Saskatchewan Health Authority clinics. Pharmacies throughout the province also can administer the shots.