Who Can Take PAXLOVID
For adults at high risk for severe COVID‑19 (including hospitalization or death), PAXLOVID may help keep mild-to-moderate COVID‑19 from becoming severe.
Many Americans have a high-risk factor for developing severe COVID‑19. This means PAXLOVID may be right for them.
Many health conditions and some lifestyle factors could increase the risk of progression to severe COVID‑19. In fact, roughly 75% of adults in the United States have at least one risk factor.
If you're one of them, you should contact your healthcare professional as soon as you have COVID‑19.
Do you have a high-risk factor that may make PAXLOVID right for you?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), your risk of progressing to severe COVID‑19 may be increased if:
- You have one or more of the common high-risk factors below.
- You are unvaccinated or not up-to-date with vaccinations against COVID‑19
- You experience healthcare access inequities due to race, ethnicity, disability, or where you live or work
Your risk may also be increased by other factors not listed on this page, so be sure to discuss all of your health conditions and lifestyle factors with your healthcare professional.
If you have one of the high-risk factors below, and have had COVID‑19 with mild-to-moderate symptoms for 5 days or fewer, ask your healthcare professional if PAXLOVID is right for you.
The CDC recommends treatment for anyone 50 and older
People who are 65 years of age or older are at the highest risk
Blood disorders
- Sickle cell disease or thalassemia
Cancer
Cerebrovascular disease
- Stroke
Chronic kidney problems
- People with moderate kidney disease will need a different dose of PAXLOVID
- PAXLOVID is not recommended for people with severe kidney disease
Chronic liver diseases
- Cirrhosis (or scarring of the liver)
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- Alcohol-related liver disease
- Autoimmune hepatitis
- PAXLOVID is not recommended for people with severe liver disease
Chronic lung diseases
- Moderate-to-severe asthma
- Bronchiectasis (thickening of the lungs’ airways)
- A chronic lung disease affecting newborns called bronchopulmonary dysplasia
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema and chronic bronchitis
- Damaged or scarred lung tissue known as interstitial lung disease (including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis)
- Pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs)
- Pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs)
Cystic fibrosis
Diabetes type 1 and type 2
Heart conditions
- Heart failure
- Coronary artery disease (damage or disease in the heart's major blood vessels)
- Cardiomyopathies (heart muscle diseases)
- Possibly high blood pressure (hypertension)
- Infections and other contagious illnesses
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- Tuberculosis
Neurological conditions
- Dementia
Weakened immune system, which may be caused by:
- Solid organ or blood stem cell transplant
- Corticosteroids, chemotherapy, or other medicines that reduce immune function
- Primary immunodeficiency
An overweight or obese body mass index (BMI) of over 25 is a risk factor for adults
Don’t know your BMI? Calculate it here*
*By clicking this link, you will be redirected to a website that is neither owned nor controlled by Pfizer. Pfizer is not responsible for the content or services of this site.
Mental health conditions increase your risk, including:
- Mood disorders, such as depression
- Schizophrenia spectrum disorders
- Doing little or no physical activity
- Current or former smoker
- Substance use disorders (such as alcohol, opioid, or cocaine use disorders)
Some mental, physical, and developmental disabilities increase risk, including those that:
- Limit mobility
- Reduce a person’s ability to follow preventive measures, like hand washing
- Require close contact with those who may be infected, such as a caregiver or family member
- Reduce a person’s ability to communicate their symptoms
These disabilities put you at risk:
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism
- Cerebral Palsy
- Charcot Foot
- Chromosomal Disorders
- Chromosome 17 and 19 Deletion
- Chromosome 18q Deletion
- Cognitive Impairment
- Congenital Hydrocephalus
- Congenital Malformations
- Deafness/Hearing Loss
- Disability Indicated by Barthel Index
- Down Syndrome
- Fahr’s Syndrome
- Fragile X Syndrome
- Gaucher Disease
- Hand and Foot Disorders
- Learning disabilities
- Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) or Autosomal Dominant Optic Atrophy (ADOA)
- Leigh Syndrome
- Limitations with self-care or activities of daily living
- Maternal Inherited Diabetes and Deafness (MIDD)
- Mitochondrial Encephalopathy, Lactic Acidosis, and Stroke-Like Episodes (MELAS) and Risk Markers
- Mobility Disability
- Movement Disorders
- Multiple Disability (referred to in research papers as “bedridden disability”)
- Multisystem Disease
- Myoclonic Epilepsy with Ragged Red Fibers (MERRF)
- Myotonic Dystrophy
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Neuromuscular Disorders
- Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD)
- Neuropathy, Ataxia, and Retinitis Pigmentosa (NARP)
- Perinatal Spastic Hemiparesis
- Primary Mitochondrial Myopathy (PMM)
- Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
- Senior-Løken Syndrome
- Severe and complex disability (referred to in research papers as “polyhandicap disability”)
- Spina Bifida and Other Nervous System Anomalies
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Tourette Syndrome
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Visual Impairment/Blindness
- Wheelchair Use
Additional information to share with your healthcare professional when discussing PAXLOVID
Be sure to let your healthcare professional know if you have any allergies
Do not take PAXLOVID if you’re allergic to nirmatrelvir, ritonavir, or any of the ingredients in PAXLOVID.
Come with a list of all the medicines you take
Including all of your prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. PAXLOVID can interact with other medicines causing severe or life-threatening side effects or death. Be sure to tell your healthcare professional about all the medicines you take when discussing PAXLOVID.
PAXLOVID may affect how oral contraceptives work
If you are able to become pregnant, you should discuss birth control with your healthcare professional. You may need to use a different or additional form of contraception.
Tell your healthcare professional if you have liver or kidney problems or have HIV infection
If you have any recent blood test results, bring them for your healthcare professional to review. PAXLOVID isn’t for people with severe liver or kidney disease. PAXLOVID may lead to some HIV medicines not working as well in the future.
Tell your healthcare professional if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, are breastfeeding, or plan to breastfeed
It is not known if PAXLOVID can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare professional right away if you are or become pregnant. It is unknown if PAXLOVID can pass into your breast milk, so discuss the best way to feed your baby during treatment.
Be ready to talk to a healthcare professional about PAXLOVID.
This COVID‑19 Preparedness Plan can help.
Think PAXLOVID may be right for you?
