migurus

Does anybody know if paxlovid is available in Italy? I notice some covid numbers are raising, we will be there in October. It would be a great comfort to know that this medicine is available should we get sick while travelling. Thanks.

Jean

It is, but do you have an underlying condition that puts you at high risk for the progression of Covid to a severe case?

If you take any prescription drugs, find out whether they are contraindicated for Paxlovid. FYI, it's a long list! Be sure to carry with you information about any/all prescriptions and dosages... of course, you should do this anyway, but it is important a prescriber knows if there could be a serious interaction.

Just me, but I would be very reluctant to take Paxlovid while traveling in a foreign country as I'd be a bit worried about any communication gaps. If you have serious side effects (and I know three people who did), you need to seek medical attention immediately.

https://www.fda.gov/media/155051/download

SusanP

Listen to Jean. When I had Covid earlier this year (after being so careful for so long!), the doctors recommended letting it run its course unless symptoms got much worse, even though I am in that more vulnerable age group. This was due to the many side effects of Paxlovid, some of them serious. You might want to talk to your doctor before you go in case of the possibility of taking it.

scrb11

There are a number of studies under way to see if Paxlovid lowers the risk of Long Covid.

Some doctors and pharma researchers will take it to reduce chances of sequelae remaining in their system after an infection.

May be worth asking your doctor whether your medications make taking Paxlovid a bad idea.

Another drug which has some effectiveness at reducing the incidence of LC is metformin, an existing drug which is considered to have many benefits, though it's mainly for diabetes. But supposedly some endocrinologists joked that it should be put into the drinking water supply.

hetismij2

I'm interested in where you saw cases are rising in Italy. WHO shows no cases, and it numbers were dropping from January.

https://covid19.who.int/region/euro/country/it

bilboburgler

There are two reasons to think that covid is rising, not taking care on the date line of information and the occasional anti-vacs conspiracy website that keeps coughing out nonsense. I still have friends getting it in the UK (2 in the past 6 weeks), because of the vaccine the actual physical problem is minor and they just stay at home for 10 days, this is probably true world wide but not a reason to consider travel. Obviously a more serious reason to consider travel is the weird weather occuring all over the world. But that subject is more serious than Covid.

hetismij2

It is now regarded as endemic here, so dealt with like flu. Stay home till you feel better, get hospitalised if it gets serious, same as flu. Not sure they have ever use Paxlovid here, and it certainly wouldn't be given just because you test positive.
I suspect it is the same in Italy.
Agree about the weather, as always.

scrb11

Epidemiologists say there’s a big immunity wall but that won’t last forever. Recently there were few or aero expected excess deaths in the US.

The plan is a fall booster based on the XBB strain, which has previously not been targeted by vaccines. But as we go forward, fewer people are getting each successive booster, including seniors.

I’m currently visiting Italy and Ticino but with the heat and humidity I have to admit i haven’t masked on buses or the funicular I took an hour ago. Or when I slip into stores.

I still avoid indoor dining which is easier to do in the summer, as well as doing takeaway of simple meals. No multi course meals any more but I’m doing that for dietary and personal medical reasons, not just to avoid long meals dining indoors.

KTtravel

I saw this on a Tripadvisor query:

"Re: Paxlovid?
28 Mar 2023, 9:15 amMy husband (age 68 and me age 72) had COVID in Naples in mid-December 2022. One the first day, I tried to get Paxlovid for us and was told it was not used in Italy "except in the hospital" because "Italy doesn't think it works". this was confirmed by the U.S. Embassy duty officer. We recovered without it, but I would have liked to have had the option. What a disappointment that Italy isn't up with the science. Maybe they are now (written end of March 2023)"

Christina

Even in the US, Paxlovid isn't given automatically to everyone with COVID, even if you are in the senior age group. I know someone who got Covid and he is about age 70 and his doctor didn't recommend he take it unless he started getting a lot worse around day 3-4. You have 5 days. The problem is Paxlovid itself can cause side effects so if you are sort of getting better already, there is no point to taking it, and could be drawbacks. I can see you might want to know iof it is possible though, where you are going, just in case. Of course Paxlovid exists in the developed world, but local practice patterns may vary, especially for a total stranger tourist. Even in the US, I don't think someone would readily prescribe it for a patient they didn't know well.

I don't know what endocrinologist is joking about metaformin in the water supply, but I doubt that had anything to do with long COVID. I think it was in reference to the fact that it has been found in wastewater supplies due to its common usage. so can confound tests studying the effects of metformin. The main author of that work (Mike Powell) was not an endocrinologist, but a biomedical engineer, and none of the other authors were physicians, either. I work in public health and studies on its usage for Covid have been limited with no overwhelming results for the general population. Specifically, the article touted a lot by Lancet published recently on its use in long Covid (the COVID OUT study) only included a sample of obese patients and half of them had never even been vaccinated at all against Covid. So they can't really say about the general population. Metaformin is like Ozempic, it's a drug for diabetics and affects blood sugar levels. If you were diabetic, it might be worth considering but I can't imagine any doctor would prescribe that to someone as a walk-up, either.

muskoka

I'll also mention that I received Paxlovid here (Canada) because I fell squarely into the immuno-compromised group. As my pharmacist explained when COVID symptoms returned after having finished the Rx, it is fairly common for rebound COVID to recur post-Paxlovid. Just something to think about.

studenttobe

This blog is useful and interesting. I checked it several times during a long stay in Rome at the tail end of Covid, particularly during the delta surge when I got quite nervous. Stethoscope On Rome

Melnq8

My spouse was prescribed Paxlovid last summer - he said it was nasty, worse than the COVID it was treating. Lots of not-so-nice side effects.

northie

Husband and I both had paxlovid prescribed for covid -we are both in the considered high risk group in Australia ie over 70 .No side effects whatsoever.
You certainly woudnt get it in Australia unless you are in the risk groups as per the Health system.

Michael

I am currently taking Paxlovid. No ifs and buts from the doctor because of age. He did not want to see me in the emergency room. And yet I am fully vaccinated, with all the available boosters, and already had Covid in February. I am hoping that this will not be a quarterly occurrence.