Ontario pharmacists get green light to prescribe COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid

Starting next week pharmacists in Ontario will be able to prescribe the antiviral drug Paxlovid as a treatment for COVID-19, the health minister said Thursday.

Sylvia Jones made the announcement at a morning news conference in Toronto, where she said the prescriptions will come at no cost to patients. The new policy takes effect December 12.

There are about 4,000 pharmacists in the province who are already dispensing the drug. The prescription program will work on an opt-in basis, so it is unclear how many pharmacies will choose to take part.

Justin Bates, the CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, said the Paxlovid prescribing power builds on the work pharmacists have been doing with the drug.

"For the last several months in dispensing Paxlovid and dealing with some of the complexities in the drug-to-drug interactions, which really leverages the pharmacist's expertise, training, and education, now we can reduce the barriers to make sure that more Ontarians have access to this important medication," Bates said.

He said he expects the majority of pharmacies "will take this on."

Ontario's chief medical officer of health said in a related statement the change will expand access to the medication, increase protection to the most vulnerable, and ease hospital pressures.

It's a move Dr. Kieran Moore said last month the government was considering in part to help keep people out of hospital, especially in rural areas where access to primary care physicians can be limited.

The antiviral medication is taken orally within five days of symptom onset and is recommended for people at higher risk of COVID-19 complications, including people over 60 and people who are immunocompromised.

The announcement comes as hospitals in the province continue to strain under pressure from multiple respiratory illnesses.

Across all ages, the number of Ontarians going to emergency departments with respiratory complaints remains well above pre-pandemic seasonal averages, according to Ontario's Acute Care Enhanced Surveillance (ACES) database.

Some pediatric hospitals have stopped surgeries and other procedures to maintain capacity for patients seeking care for respiratory symptoms.

Meanwhile, Ottawa's children's hospital has accepted staffing help from the Canadian Red Cross and opened a second pediatric intensive care unit, though others had not sought extra support as of this week.

Jones touted co-operation between pediatric and community hospitals one innovation helping to make sure more health-care professionals are trained to treat children with respiratory illnesses.

She also said it has been a difficult flu season and thanked health-care workers for their efforts under tough conditions.

"I really want to reinforce that these are incredibly dedicated, incredibly talented, educated people who have stepped up and continued to step up through what has been a very challenging virus season," she said.

Throughout the surge in respiratory illnesses in Ontario, Jones has insisted that the province was prepared to handle it. With respect to steps some hospitals have had to take to deal with an influx of patients, both Jones and Premier Doug Ford have credited them with "thinking outside the box" and not doing "business as usual."