Harris’s office announced Tuesday that the vice president had been prescribed and used Pfizer Paxlovid after consulting with her doctors a few hours after she tested positive for the virus. Paxlovid is designed to reduce severe symptoms in high-risk patients, which makes some experts question why it would be prescribed to a healthy, doubly enhanced and asymptomatic 57-year-old patient. “Asymptomatic Covid and no medical problems are a sign of Paxlovid,” former general surgeon Jerome Adams wrote on Twitter. Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, raised a similar issue. Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams said there was an “indication” for Vice President Kamala Harris taking Pfizer Paxlovid for COVID-19.AP / Andrew HarnikPaxlovid reduces severe symptoms in high-risk COVID-19 patients. REUTERS “Why give Paxlovid to someone without symptoms?” He wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked how Harris’s recipe seemed to contradict the guidance of the White House’s 19 COVID Reaction Coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha, that it should be administered to patients at high risk of developing a serious case. “Well, she also said that you should consult your doctor, and she and her doctor,” said Psaki. “She was given Paxlovid. This is something that many Americans may be eligible for. They should also consult their doctor. “And I think overall, we’re just grateful that this is an approved drug on the market that can benefit a lot of people, including the vice president.” The White House Reaction Coordinator for COVID-19 Dr. Ashish Jha speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, April 26, 2022. AP / Susan Walsh Rainer said the vice president’s easy access to antiviral therapy, which is licensed by the government for emergencies, underscored the inequality of healthcare in the country. [Paxlovid’s EUA] “It is for people with a moderate to high risk of serious complications,” he wrote. “The vice-president is obviously not eligible under the EUA.” Celine Gauder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist who advised Biden on the White House on COVID-19, told Politico’s West Wing Playbook that the preference for the web was not “unreasonable.” Pfizer Paxlovid is manufactured in Freiburg, Germany. Reuters “We know that the way presidents are treated, or in this case vice-presidents, is not necessarily the way the average person is treated,” he was quoted as saying. “It’s not just about what’s best for this patient – it’s about what’s best for the nation.” “I have no symptoms and will continue to isolate myself and follow the instructions of the CDC,” Harris wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “I am grateful that I have been vaccinated and strengthened.”
