FDA Says Yes To Pharmacists Pfizer COVID-19 Pill Prescriptions—Making Medicine Access Easier

FDA says yes to U.S. pharmacists' Pfizer COVID-19 pill prescriptions. The latest decision made by the Food and Drug Administration is expected to make medicine more accessible across the United States.

Pfizer's COVID-19 pill, Paxlovid, is the first antiviral treatment introduced by the pharmaceutical giant back in 2021.

It was approved by FDA on December 22, 2021. However, its accessibility has been limited since only doctors, physician assistances, and nurses were allowed to prescribe the oral COVID-19 medicine.

The New York Times reported that this restriction forces patients to find health experts that can prescribe them Paxlovid. But, with FDA's latest decision, this situation is expected to change.

FDA Says Yes To Pharmacists Pfizer COVID-19 Pill Prescriptions

According to CNN Health's latest report, FDA announced that state-licensed pharmacists will soon be allowed to offer Pfizer's COVID-19 pill.

The health department confirmed this detail on Wednesday, July 6.

"The FDA recognizes the important role pharmacists have played and continue to play in combatting this pandemic," said FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Director Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni.

She added that allowing U.S.-based pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid will greatly help patients, especially since they need to take the medicine five days after their symptoms appeared.

Of course, there are U.S. residents still need to follow the requirements imposed by FDA before they can ask for pharmacists to give them Paxlovid.

Getting Paxlovid Prescription from Pharmacists

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration explained that there are some things that patients need to do before state-licensed pharmacists can prescribe them Pfizer's COVID-19 pill.

First, they need to provide their health records that are less than 12 months old. These documents should include blood work to review for liver or kidney problems.

Documents showing other medications they have taken are also required. They can either present their records in electronic or printed versions.

If you want to see further details about the latest Paxlovid access expansion imposed by FDA, you can click this link.

Previously, experts claimed that new COVID-19 variants will continue to circulate throughout the summer of 2022.

On the other hand, CEPI shared one major difference between monkeypox and COVID-19.

For more news updates about Pfizer's COVID-19 oral medicine and other health topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

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Written by: Griffin Davis