The two oral antiviral therapeutics developed by pharmaceutical companies Merck and Pfizer to treat mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 are readily available to patients in Tennessee as a part of an increased bi-weekly allocation program.
“This increase in allocations is something we have been anticipating for weeks,” Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey, MD, MBA, FAAP said in a statement. “Our goal has always been to increase access to these treatments by onboarding more pharmacies to maximize access to patients. We have seen a steady increase in allocations to the state and know many pharmacies and providers are eager to offer this treatment to help mitigate COVID-19 disease progression for those at risk of a severe outcome.”
The pills – called Paxlovid® by Pfizer and molnupiravir by Merck – are for individuals at high risk of progression to severe illness, including hospitalization and death. Department of Health officials note that the therapies require a prescription by a licensed provider. Individuals seeking this treatment option, the agency said, should coordinate with their healthcare provider before contacting a location to receive the therapies.
When the two treatments were first authorized under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), allocations to states were limited, however, in recent weeks, allocations have increased, allowing additional pharmacies and other dispensers to submit requests for these oral antiviral treatments, according to the press release.
The Health Department recently shared information to pharmacies and other potential dispensers on submitting requests for the oral antivirals through the State REDCap survey, the press release states. This is in addition to the oral antiviral treatments continuing to be available at participating Walmart locations, according to the department.
The average positive COVID-19 test rate for the state of Tennessee is 25.7 percent – its lowest point since December 30th, 2021, according to data collected by The Mayo Clinic.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
[…] developed by pharmaceutical companies Merck and Pfizer to treat mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 are readily available to patients in Tennessee as a part of an increased bi-weekly allocation […]
[…] developed by pharmaceutical companies Merck and Pfizer to treat mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 are readily available to patients in Tennessee as a part of an increased bi-weekly allocation […]
Now that the scamdemic is running down, we get “allocated” a treatment – nice.
During an event at the Munich Security Conference, Bill Gates said that “sadly” Omicron is a “type of vaccine” and has “done a better job getting out to the world population than we have with vaccines.”
The Microsoft co-founder made the remarks after being asked to assess where the world was at in its fight against COVID-19.
“Sadly, the virus itself, particularly, the variant called omicron, is a type of vaccine, that is it creates both B-cell and T-cell immunity, and it’s done a better job getting out to the world population than we have with vaccines,” Gates lamented.