(Yicai Global) Dec. 27 -- Beijing will distribute Pfizer’s oral drug Paxlovid to community healthcare centers in the city so that the latter can prescribe the antiviral treatment to people with Covid-19, multiple sources told Yicai Global.

Some healthcare service centers in Beijing’s residential communities were informed about special training sessions for doctors to learn how to prescribe Paxlovid. A staffer at a center in the city’s Xicheng district told Yicai Global that the training schedule was not yet decided.

Paxlovid, a Pfizer-developed drug with active ingredients nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, is used to treat adults with mild and moderate Covid-19 and high-risk factors that progress to severe illness. It can reduce the risk of hospitalization and mortality by 89 percent. Paxlovid was officially included in the ninth version of China’s diagnosis and treatment protocol for Covid-19 in March.

“The arrival of the oral treatment against Covid-19 in residential communities may effectively alleviate the overwhelming pressure on medical resources”, the head of the respiratory and critical care medicine departments at some general hospitals in Beijing told Yicai Global.

Beijing is at the peak of Covid-19 infections, with many severe cases. Hospitals’ oral anti-Covid drugs can satisfy the basic treatment needs, the doctor said. Paxlovid is more efficacious if taken within the first three to five days after the appearance of symptoms, the person added, noting that those in critical conditions have already been hospitalized, so they will not need the drug.

The people in charge of several community healthcare service centers and doctors in Beijing’s Chaoyang district told Yicai Global that they have not yet received supplies of Paxlovid. Other sources noted that the drug would be delivered to centers from the districts’ healthcare authorities only after doctors complete the training.

But the supply of Paxlovid will be limited, the sources pointed out, adding that residential communities with more elderly with higher infection risks will be prioritized.

Editor: Xu Wei, Futura Costaglione