So far, only 5,400 corona drugs have been sold without a prescription and a few more have been administered in hospitals. This is mainly because doctors are reluctant to prescribe them. Too few studies, too many side effects, they say. Too little knowledge, too much ignorance, says infectious disease specialist Florian Thalhammer.
“Soon each of us will know someone who died of Corona.” Ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s hunch is no longer as profound as it sounded in March 2020. In any case, it’s more realistic than to assume that each of us knows someone who has already received a drug against the viral disease. These are easy to get. In theory at least.
Possible solution to the looming labor shortage
“For example, any general practitioner can prescribe Paxlovid,” said Edgar Wutscher, vice president of the Austrian Medical Association. “But there are also critical doctors who don’t prescribe it.” Certainly not to young people without previous illnesses. “You would be free of complaints faster, which could be the solution to the impending shortage of workers,” says infectious disease specialist Florian Thalhammer. Although he points out that there are not yet enough studies for low-risk patients. “Because these drugs were not originally intended for this target group.”
But the tide has turned. Now it would also make sense to prescribe Paxlovid or Lagevrio to the young patients as soon as possible after the onset of the first symptoms.
“These are not cough treats”
“It is important that the symptoms are not older than five days. After that, it doesn’t really take effect,” says Wutscher, who firmly rejects the accusations made by some experts that doctors are not properly trained in this area: “You shouldn’t ignore the interactions and side effects. These are not coughing fits. Our offer to the government is a distribution of the medicines in the ordination.”
“The eye of the needle is not the pharmacies, but the doctors”
The Chamber of Pharmacists cannot imagine that, but they also advocate a less bureaucratic way of purchasing: “After a positive test result, after a telephone consultation with the doctor, an online prescription should be enough to get the drug in the pharmacy. .” of drugs dispensed from the current 5,400. When the doctors play along. “The bottleneck is not the pharmacies, but the doctors,” says Jan Thies of the Chamber of Pharmacists.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
