Flu drug will be free – but…
I almost laughed at this explanation of how Quebec is making Tamiflu free. If you think you have flu:
- First, a rapid test to rule out Covid
- Then, an appointment at a screening centre to take a better Covid test and a test for flu
- Then, if the final test is positive for flu, consult a doctor, pharmacist or nurse practitioner who will decide whether you can get the Tamiflu
All this while suffering from a contagious virus that makes you feel tired and lousy.
Dr Weblog suggests:
- Stay home in bed and take painkiller of choice.
Joey 14:19 on 2022-12-14 Permalink
It does seem absurd, but it makes sense if the following conditions are in place (and I think they are):
1. You can’t distinguish COVID from Influenza without testing for each
2. Tamiflu isn’t effective against COVID
3. There isn’t enough Tamiflu to ‘harmlessly’ administer it to patients who might ‘just’ have COVID
4. OTC painkillers won’t keep serious flu patients from getting sick (and crowding our ERs & clinics), whereas Tamiflu might.
The silver lining is that, for the moment at least, there are lots of available appointments for flu tests on Clic Sante. The last step, consulting with a health professional, seems like it would be a breeze – take your positive flu result to your local pharmacy and get an Rx for Tamiflu filled. In other words, this is basically how we managed COVID testing until the end of 2021, with the added bonus of an available, effective treatment.
EmilyG 14:46 on 2022-12-14 Permalink
And they tout this as being a way to avoid having sick people have to see a doctor for an appointment about their illness.
Blork 14:55 on 2022-12-14 Permalink
And there you have it; another bureaucrat’s solution that has no bearing on the real world.
Tamiflu is supposed to be administered withing 48 hours of the onset of symptoms. How many people can pull off the above in under 48 hours? Very few, I’d think. Plus it involves hauling your fluey ass out to what, four different locations, while you are both sick and contageous?
1. Pharmacy to get a rapid Covid test. (Some people might already have one at home, but it’s not a given.)
2. Screening center for Covid and flu tests. Hopefully you can get this as one appointment, but given that you typically have to wait at least a few hours for the results of a PCR test, then probably not, so this is probably two trips for most people.
3. Consult a doctor, nurse practitioner, or pharmacist. This could possibly be over the phone, but could also be in person. If it’s one of the first two options then there’s no guarantee the doctor or nurse practitioner will even have Tamiflu available on the spot, which means going to yet another location to get it.
In that worst case scenario, it’s five different visits. All while sick and contagious. Best case scenario is two visits, but for most people it will probably be three. All within 48 hours of first symptoms. Good luck with that.
Joey 16:52 on 2022-12-14 Permalink
Most likely two visits – testing centre (they can do both if you don’t have a COVID test kit at home – if you don’t, FFS go get one) and pharmacy, where the Tamiflu can be prescribed and dispensed. Please enlighten us with a better solution.
Kate 17:10 on 2022-12-14 Permalink
Stay home in bed and take painkiller of choice?
Kevin 17:24 on 2022-12-14 Permalink
You can get it down to one trip if you ask your pharmacy to deliver (which they offer each time I renew a prescription).
Kate 18:55 on 2022-12-14 Permalink
Shoe dropping: is there really a test for flu?
Joey 23:43 on 2022-12-14 Permalink
Yes there is: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/fluwatch/2022-2023/week-48-november-27-december-3-2022.html
10K tests in Canada a week. Influenza is not a cold.
Chris 09:59 on 2022-12-15 Permalink
>Stay home in bed and take painkiller of choice?
I’m surprised to see you minimize flu like this after excoriating me for the slightest suggestion that covid isn’t the worst disease ever.
“Stay home in bed and take painkiller of choice” is the appropriate thing for *many* flu *and* covid cases. Certainly not all though!
Kate 12:16 on 2022-12-15 Permalink
Chris, must you follow this blog in the hope of issuing a “gotcha!” from time to time?
Seventeen more Covid deaths reported from the last 24 hours at 11 am on December 15. And the holidays are still coming.
Kevin 10:31 on 2022-12-16 Permalink
Not only is there a test for flu, labs frequently now do multi-disease testing off the same stick, checking for which type of influenza, RSV, Covid or other disease.
Some but not all of these are recorded nationally.
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/flu-influenza/influenza-surveillance/weekly-influenza-reports.html
Kate 11:40 on 2022-12-16 Permalink
Thanks, Kevin.