Georgia Injury Law Blog
Even though the elderly are at risk of major complications from Covid- 19, most nursing homes around the country used alarmingly low levels of antiviral drugs that are proven to fight symptoms of the deadly disease on their residents, during the pandemic. The failure to use appropriate medications could lead to a larger number of malpractice claims.
While the Covid- 19 pandemic ravaged large portions of the metro Atlanta region, especially in the above-65 age category, efforts were made to deliver more life- saving antiviral medications to these sections of the population. Use of the antiviral drugs was higher in nursing homes than in the general community. However, a new study finds that a large number of nursing homes administered very low levels of the drugs.
In fact, shockingly, the study found that as many as 40% of nursing homes did not use antiviral drugs as of the end of 2022. The use of antiviral drugs in these facilities was low even as the pandemic gathered steam, and continued to remain low even after the medications were approved as oral drugs. In fact, according to the researchers, residents with Covid- 19 in only about 18% of the nursing homes were treated with antiviral medications.