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Eagerly awaited COVID lifesavers molnupiravir, Paxlovid now wait for patients

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Supplies of the eagerly awaited oral COVID-19 antiviral prescription medications are slowly arriving at US pharmacies, but despite strong evidence that they can help reduce symptoms and prevent severe illness, federal data and experts suggest that many patients don't know about them or don't want to take them.Two oral COVID-19 antiviral medications, molnupiravir (Merck) and Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, Pfizer), have been proven to be safe, effective, and convenient treatments to take at home.However, patients have to surmount several hurdles to get them—including recognizing that they have symptoms of COVID-19, getting a COVID-19 test, having a positive test, securing a doctor's appointment, getting a prescription, and finding a pharmacy with a supply—and they have to do all of this quickly.

Antivirals need to be started within the first 5 days of COVID-19 symptom onset in order to produce a benefit."High-risk patients in the first few days after diagnosis don't realize how much sicker they're going to get, so they miss the opportunity to get better faster—and by the time they actually do, it's too late," said Bryan Jarabek MD, PhD, chief medical informatics officer and hospitalist at M Health Fairview in Minneapolis.Patient hesitancy, confusionHailed as a potential lifesaver by their manufacturers and experts alike, molnupiravir and Paxlovid were expected to be in high demand after the US Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for both therapies in late December.

But federal data show otherwise, with many courses still on pharmacy shelves.The data show that M Health Fairview had received 2,100 5-day courses of molnupiravir as of Feb 1, and as of Feb 6 (the last date with

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