Québec authorizes pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid.

Abstract

In the Canadian province of Québec, people who test positive for COVID-19 can get a prescription for Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir; Pfizer Inc.) from their neighborhood pharmacist and start the antiviral treatment right away—an option that’s not available in most of Canada or in the United States. Health officials in Québec granted the prescribing authority to pharmacists effective April 1. According to a news report in Le Devoir, 513 Paxlovid prescriptions were filled in the province from March 17 to March 31, just before the new authority went into effect. During the first 18 days of April, 3,006 Paxlovid prescriptions were filled, and 2,042 of them were written by pharmacists, according to the report. Nathalie Marceau, professional affairs advisor for the hospital pharmacy association of Québec (APES), credited the pharmacists’ actions and visibility during the COVID-19 pandemic with raising awareness about how the profession can improve public health. “Pharmacists have shown up in the pandemic,” Marceau said. “I think that the work that has been done by . . . all pharmacists in all sectors has been very highly appreciated.”