Antiviral Covid treatment now available in the Netherlands for €1,250

An antiviral drug approved to treat Covid-19 is now available on the Dutch market, the Dutch Association of General Practitioners (NHG) confirmed on Thursday. takes. strict rules As to who the insurance company is entitled to pay for these costs.

Paxlovid was already recommended for use in the European Union in January, but member states were allowed to start using it several weeks earlier. Under emergency measures. Continue Advice from the European Medicines Agencythe Dutch government entered into negotiations Several months with Pfizer to determine the final price in Holland.Ministry of Health and Welfare faced criticism in November for not acting quickly to close the deal.

Treatment with Paxlobid is somewhat complicated, with patients taking 30 tablets over 5 days. Two 150-mg tablets of paxlovid and one 100-mg tablet of ritonavir should be taken together twice daily. Paxlovid makes it harder for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to replicate in the body, and ritonavir extends the efficacy of the Pfizer drug, the EMA said earlier this year. Distribute a single package containing all tablets.

According to laboratory results submitted to the EMA, 1,039 patients with Covid-19 were given paxlovid, eight of whom required hospitalization for more than one day to treat severe symptoms. I didn’t die. The placebo group of 1,046 patients resulted in 66 hospitalizations and 9 of her deaths.

The treatment has proven to be very effective, but some people are eligible for reimbursement of the €1,242 cost under basic health insurance. This includes severely or infirm people who have never had Covid-19 and who have not been vaccinated. In addition, patients with “severely compromised immune systems,” including organ transplant recipients, are treated by specialists and are covered by insurance companies regardless of their vaccination status.

The NHG has also advised general practitioners not to administer concomitant medications to pregnant women or women taking certain medications.