Ministry of Public Health revealed “Favipiravir” effective Helping patients with COVID-19 improve their symptoms by 79%, with the lowest cost per course of treatment compared to the other 3 drugs, namely Remdisivir. mole nupiravir and Pax Lovid
Yesterday (19 March 2022) at the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Situation Press Center, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi Province, MD. Director-General of the Department of Disease Control, together with Dr. Manat Phothaphon, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Medical Services Announcement of issues of use Favipiravir in the treatment of COVID-19 patients
However, Dr. Opas said that the beginning of Covid-19 is an emerging disease. There is no specific cure yet. Medical personnel have to find a way to treat. Antiretroviral drugs that are currently registered and have a mechanism of action that are likely to inhibit the infection were tested, such as antiretroviral drugs for HIV. Influenza drugs, etc., and found that Favipiravir is registered with the FDA in the treatment of influenza. made many patients feel better in which the epidemic situation has a large number of patients Providing medicines for use in addition to its therapeutic efficacy and safety. Still need to consider the number of patients who need to provide medication to support. and the ability to provide services as well
which the drug favipiravir Thailand can procure large quantities at very affordable prices. and has a good therapeutic effect If the illness is mild and treated quickly will reduce the chance of severe symptoms and recovery Experts in both the treatment and prevention of disease have carefully considered it together and decided to use it.
In addition, the use offavipiravir by the Clinical Research Center Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital Mahidol University in collaboration with Bamrasnaradura Institute, Department of Disease Control and Department of Medical Sciences The study was divided into two groups of 62 patients. The first group was treated with favipiravir as a regimen of 1,800 mg twice daily on the first day and 800 mg twice daily for 4 more days, and 31 patients in the second group 31 patients. Did not receive favipiravir. In the follow-up assessment of patients’ symptoms and viral loads in the nasopharynx, within 14 days, the favipiravir-treated group had a 79% improvement, while the untreated group had a 32.3% improvement. Those who received favipiravir showed improvement from day 2 of treatment and on days 13 and 28 of treatment had lower viral loads than those who did not. But there is a limitation: if the treatment is slow and the symptoms are quite severe The effectiveness of the drug is not very good.
“The Ministry of Public Health has confirmed that there are no ineffective/effective drugs. or dangerous to use to treat patients And in the past, more than a million people with Covid-19 have been treated with favipiravir. help reduce mortality causing sickness to return to normal life and help reduce the spread of disease Therefore, I ask you to believe in the medicine that is used to treat it,” Dr. Opas concluded.
Dr. Manas said that the specialists in the treatment of COVID-19 have been continuously monitoring the information both at home and abroad. and meeting together to adjust the treatment guidelines periodically based on empirical evidence The latest treatment guidelines have been updated on March 1, 2022 and next week there may be another update.
Favipiravir has been used for 2 years. It works by blocking the multiplication of the virus. The study found that Patients treated with favipiravir showed improvement compared to those who did not. especially during the 14 days of remdisivir It has the same mechanism of action as favipiravir. It has been approved by the US FDA for use in emergencies. by giving intravenously for those who cannot eat have problems absorbing the drug and can be used in pregnant women Studies have shown that patients have fewer symptoms. and reduced hospital stays compared to the placebo group.
The other two drugs in progress are molnupiravir. Preparing to distribute the drug Mechanism of action is the same as favipiravir. Help patients reduce the risk of severe symptoms. and Paxlovid Procurement is in progress There is a mechanism of action by which enzymes reduce the number of bacteria. can not affect the disease Reduces the risk of hospitalization by 88% if the drug is administered within 5 days of symptoms It is expected to come in mid-April.
which from the follow-up of drug use for some time Found that each has different advantages and disadvantages such as remdisivirHelps moderate symptoms Can be used in pregnant women Favipiravirfor pregnant women in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, butMolnupiravir and Paxlovid Contraindicated in pregnant and lactating women. Including being a new drug, it has a high price of 10,000 baht per course, while favipiravir is 800 baht per course and remdisivir is 1,512 baht.
