NDP reacts to Health Canada’s approval of Paxlovid

The NDP’s Critic for Health, Don Davies, made the following statement:

“It's a positive step that Health Canada has approved the use of Paxlovid to help reduce the burden on healthcare workers. However, our first priority still needs to be preventing people from getting seriously ill and requiring hospitalization. Canadians who are eligible need to get vaccinated and continue to follow their local public health orders.

Almost two years into the pandemic, Canadians once again see themselves behind in treatments. Other countries, like the US and the UK, approved Paxlovid weeks ago and have secured millions of doses for their citizens. With the healthcare system overwhelmed in many parts of Canada, it is unfair to healthcare workers to wait for months for this approval.

New Democrats are calling on the federal government to ensure that they can distribute these doses as quickly as possible to healthcare professionals and ease the burden on hospitals and healthcare centres. While we are glad that the Paxlovid has been approved, we can’t wait for months to have it distributed. The Liberals must speed up the procurement and distribution of the antiviral to protect the healthcare system.

Furthermore, patients must test positive to access Paxlovid and it must be given within five days of infection. With a shortage of rapid tests and significant backlogs for PCR tests, getting test results and a prescription within the five-day window will prove difficult for many under current conditions. New Democrats are calling on the federal government to use all tools at its disposal to address Canada’s testing shortage.”