Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, MD. Director-General of the Department of Disease Control along with Dr. Manus Phothaphon, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Medical Services Announcement on the benefits of using the drug “Favipiravir” in the treatment of COVID-19 patients by Dr. Opas said start 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. medicine to treat influenza, etc., and found that the drug “Favipiravir” registered with 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 with which medicine “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 study of drug use “Favipiravir” by the Clinical Research Center Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital 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, 62 patients, received favipiravir as a regimen of 1,800 mg twice daily for the first day and 800 mg twice daily for the next 4 days. Two of the 31 patients did not receive favipiravir. Follow-up by assessing the patient’s symptoms and measuring the viral load in the nasal cavity. It was found that within 14 days the group receiving the drug Favipiravir had a 79% improvement, while the untreated group had a 32.3% improvement. Favipiravir improved on 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 no ineffective/effective drug has been used. or dangerous to use to treat patients and in the past there have been patients with COVID-19 have been treated with medication “Favipiravir” more than a million help reduce mortality causing sickness to return to normal life and help reduce the spread of disease Therefore, please believe in the medicine that is used to treat
Dr. Manas said that the treatment of COVID-19 Experts are constantly monitoring 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 for medicine. “Favipiravir” It has been used for 2 years. It works by inhibiting the proliferation of viruses. The study found that patients receiving medication “Favipiravir” Improved symptoms compared to those who did not receive the drug. especially during the 14 days of remdisivir It has the same mechanism of action as the drug. “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 The mechanism of action is the same as the drug. “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 It was found that each has different advantages and disadvantages, for example, remdisivir helps moderate symptoms. can be used in pregnant women “Favipiravir” for pregnant women in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, but Molnupiravir and Paxlovid Contraindicated in pregnant and lactating women. Including being a new drug, so the price is up to 10,000 baht per course, while the drug “Favipiravir” The course price is 800 baht and Remdisivir is 1,512 baht, Dr. Manas said at the end.
