P.E.I.'s public health office says antiviral drugs are helping in the fight against COVID-19. The province has received 900 boxes of the antiviral drug Paxlovid and expects more in the coming months.

Other antivirals and treatments are also being used to help treat people with COVID-19.

P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison stresses these treatments are not a replacement for vaccines but can help people who are classified as high risk, such as people 50 or older, the immunocompromised or others with underlying conditions or who are not fully vaccinated.

Morrison explained Paxlovid contains an inhibitor that helps stop the virus from making copies of itself and spreading, thus helping the body fight off the virus more easily.

"It gives your immune system time to work at clearing the virus," she said.

"This is a medication that is primarily recommended for individuals who are at high risk of disease progression."

Several patients have reported feeling significantly better upon completion of the treatment, which clinical trials show reduces the likelihood of someone ending up in hospital, Morrison said.

As of March 19, about 242 treatments of Paxlovid had been dispensed in P.E.I. by participating pharmacies, she said.

"We feel we have avoided hospitalization for a large number of people," she said.

Morrison said P.E.I has enough Paxlovid for now and she expects the province will get more antivirals in the near future.

"We absolutely have enough, and I would think after this phase and as the country gets more antiviral available, this will become more widespread in more pharmacies and will be prescribed by more people here in the province, which will be great."

P.E.I.'s rate of prescribing Paxlovid is higher than elsewhere in Atlantic Canada, she said.

P.E.I. has eight pharmacies designated to work with specific doctors who have been given authority to prescribe Paxlovid.

Referrals for confirmed positive cases must come within five days of testing positive. Individuals can be identified by a range of staff involved in P.E.I. health care such as: family doctors, 811 call-takers, emergency room physicians, COVID case calling teams, home care nursing staff, and staff at the First Nations Health Centre.

"They are subsequently contacted by a prescribing physician, who conducts a telephone assessment, and then really collaborates with the community pharmacist to dispense the medication if it's indicated," said Morrison.

Not everyone who is high risk is able to take Paxlovid because of interactions with other medications, she said.

Other treatments can be given when this happens and Health Canada is in the process of looking at approving more treatments, she said.

"We'll continue to look at the trials and the studies along with our colleagues across the country," she said.