The two COVID-19 antiviral pills authorized by the FDA in December offer an effective, cheap way to treat COVID-19 patients, but many uninsured patients are struggling to obtain them, NBC News reported Feb. 6.
The two pills, Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Merck’s molnupiravir, each require a physician's prescription, and treatment must begin within days of a positive COVID-19 test result.
Many uninsured COVID-19 patients are opting to go without the pills, as they would have to pay to see a physician to prescribe them.
Peter Nagel, a pharmacist in rural Georgia, told NBC News that even though the pills are in high demand, his pharmacy is sitting on its supply because many of the community's uninsured patients are unable to get to a physician for a prescription.
"I got 500 bottles of molnupiravir just sitting there in my pharmacy. I’ve got the ability to help people, and I can’t give it to them," he said. "I've had four or five different patients die from Covid when I’ve had the pills to help them and couldn’t give it to them."
Pharmacy associations are advocating to change the FDA decision that prevents pharmacists from prescribing COVID-19 antiviral pills, arguing such a change would greatly increase Americans' access to the potentially lifesaving drugs, according to the report. These associations also say pharmacists' ability to prescribe the pills could help keep patients out of overburdened healthcare settings, just as when pharmacists were granted emergency authorization to dispense vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and COVID-19 tests, according to the report.
FDA spokesperson Chanapa Tantibanchachai told NBC News the agency determined only "traditional" prescribers can prescribe the pills based on several factors, including "the drugs' side-effect profiles, the need to assess potential for drug interactions, the need to assess potential kidney function problems (including the severity of potential problems), and the need to evaluate patients for pre-existing conditions that may put them at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death."