Health Affairs September 25, 2024
Abstract
Oral Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) is highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death from COVID-19, yet it has been remarkably underused, even by patients at highest risk from COVID-19, since its December 2021 introduction in the US. The reasons behind this underuse are still unclear. To examine public awareness and perceptions of Paxlovid that might help explain its underuse, we conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,430 US adults in July 2023. 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...