Pfizer's New Antiviral Pill For Covid-19 Isn't Safe For Everyone. Here's Why.

Pfizer’s Paxlovid has now been authorized for emergency use only, however, the new drug isn’t safe for everyone.

Paxlovid has been authorized for mild to moderate Covid cases for people as young as 12 years old that have health conditions that raise their risk of death from coronavirus.

Patients that are prescribed Paxlovid will need to be monitored by doctors while taking the new antiviral pill.

If you are taking medications that include antidepressants (nearly everyone I know is on some sort of antidepressant), statins, or blood thinners… there are some risky drug interactions you need to be aware of.

Also, Paxlovid isn’t recommended by the FDA to be used with patients that have severe liver or kidney disease.

Paxlovid is basically an antiviral medicine cocktail that consists of two tablets: nirmatrelvir and ritonavir.

Since ritonavir suppresses CYP3A, which is a liver enzyme, it can affect how your medications metabolize in your body.

This could cause other medications to rise to toxic levels in the body.

Some of these potential interactions are not trivial, and some pairings have to be avoided altogether. Some are probably easily managed. But some we’re going to have to be very careful about.
Peter Anderson, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Here is a list of different types of medications that could be impacted:

blood thinners
anti-seizure medications
drugs for irregular heart rhythms
high blood pressure
high cholesterol
antidepressants
anti-anxiety medications
immunosuppressants
steroids
inhalers
HIV treatments
erectile dysfunction medications

Some of the interactions won’t be a huge deal, but others could be dangerous and even deadly.

You can read a detailed list of medications that may be affected by reading the fact sheet about Paxlovid.

If your doctor wants to prescribe Paxlovid, make sure you disclose every single medication and even herbal medicines you may take… I honestly suggest talking to the pharmacist as well.