Submitted by earlgreyyuzu t3_zz74he in CambridgeMA
My partner's doctor is unavailable and he was only able to see a NP who basically blew him off and said young people don't get long covid (not true) so just take some cough drops (ugh). He does have risk factors like very early onset alzheimers.
Has anyone youngish been able to get paxlovid? Who/where should we go?
I've booked him to see carewell urgent care and cvs minute clinic -- unsure of what will happen.
Thank you thank you thank you. That was so easy, after fighting with two other places. Whew!
+1 I filled out their form (which actually had risk factors besides asthma and HIV), and they just prescribed it to me after only confirming that I'm not allergic to it and don't have kidney problems. I had tried multiple other doctors and pharmacists, and they all said it was only for old people and argued with me about my risk factors. But Color actually recognized that there are other risk factors and made a simple prescription with no fuss. I highly recommend them.
Old people? Sorry, it's for people who were the first to be vaxxed, as in over 50, and have conditions which are considered high risk with COVID, obesity, diabetes, asthma, lung disease etc.
Holy shit. You found the cheat code!
Same here, my partner and I got sick over Christmas and got it prescribed and picked up within hours. We are both in our our early 30s and have some risk factors.
We have gone through Color to get our Paxlovid prescriptions. You can quickly get on a video call with a PA who can prescribe if you’re eligible. https://home.color.com/consults/covid_antivirals/request/
I have mild risk factors, but my wife has more significant risk factors. I was persistent and eventually the urgent care NP relented and prescribed paxlovid. So be persistent even if they say no at first.
Yes. Try one of the many telehealth services. You will get it if you explicitly ask/insist. Don't let them blow you off.
I’m thirty with some health concerns. I went through the state’s portal
Do they not qualify...? It's not a benign treatment , and if you have no real risk factors, there's really no benefit to taking it.
How early is early onset Alzheimer's? Seems quite odd that you call them "young" but also say that they have early onset Alzheimer's... Early onset is like 40s-50s. Not "young"
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I'm confused is having increased risk of a disease, but not actually having it, considered being at increased risk for severe COVID? Seems like that's using the transitive property which I don't think is how it works.
Yes it does. If you have a genetic predisposition for cancer, dementia and other neurological conditions, you’re at risk of getting long covid and exacerbating the chances that you’ll get the illness earlier.
Here's the thing, paxlovid is to treat people who have a risk of primary complications with COVID as in they are at risk of getting severely sick from their COVID infection itself not secondary long term complications of having COVID. That may be why you got the push back.
And you're knowledgeable of my partner's health and total lack of risk factors based on one example I gave?
COVID is showing an increased likelihood of neurological-deficit conditions across the board - including Alzheimer's. That makes OP's partner low risk.
You really need to read the recent literature more to speak as confidently here as you have, because you've clearly not done that.
I was asking a question, and I literally said "I'm confused"...
Maybe if you're going to post on the internet about something maybe you should provide more details. It says he has a risk factor of "early onset Alzheimer's" (says nothing about his mother ...). That's not a risk factor. He clearly doesn't qualify for paxlovid and doesn't necessarily need it. That's why he's been blown off.
What part of “other risk factors” do you not understand? If we know we have the risk factors, we don’t need strangers telling us we don’t. I’m not going to list online all his personal health details, which is beside the point anyway. I asked for places to get a paxlovid prescription, not for strangers to judge qualification. Other people understood this and I got many helpful responses, so my partner was able to get the prescription BECAUSE HE QUALIFIES. Kindly don’t get paxlovid for yourself if you’re so against it.
It's incredibly ableist that people are trying to argue this point with you, and the point you're making is backed up by the literature we have so far around COVID effects on the brain - so just know, the stupidest are often loudest. You're doing the right things for your partner and I hope you were able to get Paxlovid.
It's not ableist. Paxlovid is literally only approved for people who have an increased risk of developing severe primary disease NOT for people who are at risk of developing early onset secondary diseases. This is in the actual drug literature and in the FDA emergency approval. I'm saying this as a cancer patient who is at risk of getting severe primary disease. You're not necessarily wrong, but Paxlovid is not yet approved for everyone.
I hear that you're a cancer patient (and I'm sorry for that) but the argument itself is ableist. In NY you test positive, you call a hotline and get Paxlovid delivered to your house same-day - it's approved for everyone. In California, you test positive and you get Paxlovid from your PCP - it's approved for everyone. I'm not sure where you're located but please consider updating your information before you go around telling people not to avail themselves of perfectly acceptable preventives.
Early intervention lessens the risk of long-COVID. That is also in the literature. It's fine. There is no reason OP's husband should not access treatment.
Paxlovid.com "PAXLOVID has not been approved, but has been authorized for emergency use by FDA under an EUA, for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg) with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death."
I don't interpret that as authorized "for everyone." Show me where you're getting your info from where anyone can be prescribed Paxlovid?
The list of eligible medical conditions covers a lot of ground. If someone is in their 20s, has depression and is physically inactive, it might not seem like they qualify for paxlovid based on your definition, but they absolutely are eligible based on the list of medical conditions: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html
This is such a bizarre hill to die on. I'm getting my info from the NY State website and CA state websites. Have a good week.
lycon3 t1_j2a54wd wrote
My partner and I both used this state telehealth service and had our Rx filled at the grocery store within hours: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/free-telehealth-for-covid-19-treatment-with-paxlovid#get-a-free-telehealth-consultation-