Searching for Pfizer’s Paxlovid Pills When Mom Got Covid

The employee who answered the phone told me that the doctors there had yet to conduct their own medical review of Paxlovid and, as a matter of policy, could not yet prescribe it. Moreover, the employee told me, my mother would need an appointment to speak to a doctor, and there were no slots until a week later.

I began hunting for another doctor who would promptly write a prescription.

I tried scheduling visits with several telemedicine providers, including CVS and Teladoc, but I kept seeing a similarly worded notification on the intake forms: They were not writing prescriptions for Paxlovid or molnupiravir, a similar antiviral pill from Merck.

(Later, I asked both companies about these policies. A CVS spokeswoman said providers were prescribing the antiviral pills to patients they saw in person at some stores but not via telemedicine. A Teladoc spokesman said the company believed at this point that “it’s most appropriate” for the antiviral pills to be prescribed in person.)

I started calling urgent care clinics and health systems near my mother to see if they would write her a prescription. At one point, we even got her on a video call with a doctor at a nearby health system.

Maddeningly, we were repeatedly told the same thing: Their doctors couldn’t write prescriptions for Paxlovid during virtual appointments. My mother would have to be evaluated in person — seemingly defeating the purpose of a remote doctor’s appointment.

In any case, this was a nonstarter, because my mother lives alone and doesn’t drive, and the clinics weren’t within walking distance. She would not consider taking a taxi or a bus and risk exposing others to the virus. In this regard, my mother isn’t alone. Tens of millions of Americans rely on public transportation. And those with cars risk spreading the virus while seeking prescriptions in person.

Other medical facilities I called that afternoon provided me with information that was just plain wrong. One person told me that no monoclonal antibody treatments were available in California. Another insisted that Paxlovid was only for hospitalized patients.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/business/covid-pill-treatment-pfizer.html