COVID-19 Test to Treat Initiative has limited reach

This week, the Biden administration launched its COVID-19 Test to Treat Initiative, which speeds the ability of COVID-positive individuals to receive treatment for the disease. Pharmacies that have a prescriber on site can immediately dispense antiviral pills to the consumer, eliminating the need for the patient to arrange a separate medical visit to receive a prescription and then return to the pharmacy. The federal government is covering the cost of Paxlovid and molnupiravir, which must be taken within three to five days of symptom onset for maximum benefit. Several hundred sites began participating in the program this week, but most pharmacies do not have a nurse practitioner or other prescriber on site and are not eligible to take part in the program. Pharmacists told NPR the program could expend its reach if the government authorized them to prescribe the drugs. (NPR article  3/8/22)