Ontario reports 1,332 COVID-19 hospitalizations as Paxlovid arrives at select pharmacies

Ontario is reporting 1,332people in hospital with COVID-19 Wednesday as pharmacies in the province begin distributing a pill to treat the virus.

Today's hospitalizations mark a slight dip from Tuesday's 1,366 but are up from1,074at this time last week.

Of the hospitalizations reported, there are 182patientsin intensive care. That'salso downfrom 190a day earlier but up from 168a week ago. Eighty-fivepatients are on ventilators due to the virus.

The province reported another 3,833COVID-19 cases through limited PCR testing,with 23,618 tests completed the day before. However,Dr. Peter Jni, who heads the province's science advisory table, said last week the latest wastewater data suggests daily case counts for the virusare hovering around 100,000 to 120,000.

Wednesday's test positivity rate sitsat 17.5, down from Tuesday's 18.7 per cent.

The province also reported 13more deaths linked to the virus,pushing Ontario's total death tollto12,583.

Paxlovid distribution expands

Meanwhile, select pharmacies across the province will begin distributing a pill to treat COVID-19 starting Wednesday.

Ontario had a centralized distribution system, largely through hospitals and assessment centres, until the province announced Monday it would allow select pharmacies to distribute the drug to those who have a prescription a move applauded by infectious disease experts.

"It's a good move because it makes it a lot easier for people who are eligible and are prescribed packs," said Dr. Gerald Evans, an infectious disease professor at Queen's University and the medical director of infection prevention and control at Kingston Health Sciences Centre.

Paxlovid, an antiviral, has shown a 90 per cent reduction in hospitalizations among unvaccinated patients with the Delta variant who received the drug within five days of symptom onset.

The province expanded eligibility parameters for Paxlovid to anyone 70 and older, people 60 and older with fewer than three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and people 18 and older with fewer than three vaccine doses and at least one risk factor such as a chronic medical condition.

Evanscautioned that Paxlovid, which must be started within the first five days of symptoms, does not work for everybody and said the best protection against COVID-19 remains vaccination.

The province is now in its sixth wave driven by the lifting of those public health measures, according to Public Health Ontario and hospitalizations are rising.

Hospitals throughout eastern Ontario say they are facing staff shortages as COVID-19 restrictions lift and community transmission increases.

At Evans's hospital, doctors only had two ways of getting patients the drug: getting them to drive to the hospital or couriering it to them, even if they live an hour's drive from Kingston, Ont.

"The drug is inaccessible for many patients," he said.

Hospitalizations and intensive care unit capacities have been the key drivers for the imposition and lifting of public health measures in past COVID-19 waves in the province. The provincial government lifted nearly all public health measures, including masking in most public spaces, in mid-March.

Pharmacies distributing the antiviral treatment can be found on the province's website.