Why aren’t people using Paxlovid?

Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) is effective at preventing hospitalization and death from COVID-19, but few people use it. A paper by SteelFisher et al. (2024) surveyed 1,430 American adults to find out why. Their survey revealed patients had a lack of awareness of the treatment as well as misinformation about the treatment (among those who were aware of it). Specifically:

A majority of respondents (85 percent) had no or low awareness of Paxlovid, including 31 percent who had never heard of it. Even among those who were aware of the drug, many held misperceptions about its effectiveness (39 percent), adverse effects (86 percent), and requisite timing (61 percent) that could lead to underuse. Lower awareness and misperceptions were more common among medically vulnerable and disadvantaged populations who might benefit most from Paxlovid access, including adults unvaccinated against COVID-19, those with lower levels of education, and Black and Hispanic or Latino adults.

https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2023.01641

You can read the full paper here.