In Israel, 1 in 3 people offered pill treatment refuse to take Pfizer's medicine: Report

Around one in three Israelis have reportedly refused to take Pfizer’s COVID pill paxlovid. Approximately 1000 people have started taking the pill, however, around 400 people have refused to take it, reported The Times of Israel citing Channel 12 News. The new revelation comes after Israel started giving coronavirus pills to at-risk patients as Paxlovid has been found effective in preventing the disease from becoming severe.

Doron Netzer of Clalit Health Services told the Channel 12 News that half of the people who were offered the pill treatment in his Health Maintenance Organization have refused to take it, reported The Times of Israel. Netzer mentioned that most people believe that their illness is mild and decline the pill treatment. As per the news report, Paxlovid has proven effective if the pill is given to the patient within five days of symptoms. In pill treatment, the patient has to take three pills two times a day for five days.

Paxlovid treatment in Israel

The two pills are paxlovid and the third is a different antiviral pill that helps to boost the levels of the main drug in the body. The first shipment of the Pfizer pills arrived in Israel on December 30, according to Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The shipment comprised several thousand pills and the cost of medicine for a patient would reportedly cost around $530 per patient. The details regarding the cost of medicine for Israeli COVID patients is not known.

In December, the US Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Pfizer’s paxlovid for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID virus in adults and pediatric patients, who weigh at least 40 kilograms or about 88 pounds. Paxlovid is available by prescription only and should be initiated as soon as possible after a diagnosis of COVID and within five days of symptom onset, according to FDA. 

COVID situation in Israel

According to statistics given by Worldometer, as of 12 January, the total number of COVID cases in Israel is 1,589,106 and 1,380,216 have recovered from the virus. According to the Israel Ministry of Health, 254 people are still seriously ill due to COVID-19 complications. The Health Ministry further revealed that the total number of fatalities reported due to COVID is 8,274. According to the Israel Ministry of Health, 6,649,940 people have been vaccinated with the first dose of vaccine against COVID while 5,988,432 have been fully vaccinated. Moreover, 4,358,960 people have taken their first booster shot in Israel while 424,130 have received the second booster dose of vaccine. 

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