Some San Diegans got a lot of presents during the holidays they’d like to return. That includes a positive COVID-19 test.
“We have a surge of COVID in the past few days and that was expected,” sighed Dr. Kaveh Bahmanpour of the Sharp Community Medical Group.
The family practice physician said his flu and COVID patients are on the rise and the next two weeks won’t make it any easier.
“We’re expecting to probably see more and more cases, but I’m not sure if it’s going to be really severe cases,” said Dr. Bahmanpour.
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Some of those cases can avoid going to the emergency room or an urgent care by simply calling their doctors or a CVS pharmacist.
“We are the first pharmacy in the United States that has pharmacists that prescribe Paxlovid,” said Nicole Henry, a District Leader for CVS Health.
Henry explained this past summer, the FDA said pharmacists can prescribe Paxlovid directly to COVID patients.
“[Paxlovid] is an anti-viral treatment for COVID-19. It’s best taken within the first five days of a positive test,” said Henry.
She added anyone who tests positive for COVID can schedule a phone consultation with a CVS pharmacist to see if they’re eligible. They can either pick up the oral medication or have it delivered.
“It is going to shorten the duration of COVID-19 and it does prevent hospitalization,” concluded Henry.
“It works pretty well like in moderate to, medium to moderate cases,” added Dr. Bahmanpour.
He recommended anyone feeling the slightest bit sick should test for COVID just in case.
