'Very Limited' Supply Of COVID-19 Pills Available In IL
LAKE AND MCHENRY COUNTIES, IL — Long-awaited antiviral COVID-19 pills are available in area pharmacies, but health officials say supplies are very limited.
So far, only a couple thousand shipments of Pfizer's Paxlovid have been sent to 77 pharmacies across Illinois. Paxlovid is allocated by the federal government to Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
"Paxlovid is authorized for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in certain adults and pediatric. Individuals should talk with their health care provider about this treatment," according to IDPH.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Merck's molnupiravir in late December. Molnupiravir is also currently available at pharmacies across Illinois.
Paxlavoid has fared better in clinical trials, preventing 89 percent of people from dying or needing to be hospitalized, Robert Citronberg, executive medical director of infectious disease and prevention at Advocate Aurora Health, said during a news conference Wednesday.
You can locate pharmacies that currently have the antiviral pills on the IDPH website.
Meanwhile, monoclonal antibody treatments specifically meant to prevent hospitalization due to the omicron variant are being given to some Advocate Aurora Health patients who qualify.
"This product has activity against the omicron variant. The prior monoclonal antibodies have not," Citronberg said.
He said infusion clinics have been "ramped up to full speed" over the past week.
"We are able to service many of our patients who qualify and those who are at the highest risk for progression to severe disease. Primarily those who are immunocompromised, we are able to give them a monoclonal antibody treatment," Citronberg said on Tuesday. "Those trials have shown that those antibodies are extremely effective at keeping people out of the hospital."
According to the Federal Drug Administration, monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made molecules that act as substitute antibodies. They can help a person's immune system recognize and respond more effectively to the virus, making it more difficult for the virus to reproduce and cause harm.
The IDPH is rolling out the treatments and antiviral pills across the state, health officials said earlier in the week. IDPH provides a list of facilities offering antibody treatments but notes they are in short supply.
"Monoclonal antibody treatments will be available to the hospitals, as well as oral antivirals that are supposed to be coming soon and dispensed to pharmacies," Karras said Monday. "We’re not sure the quantity or when that is going to actually roll out."
Health officials are still urging residents to get their vaccines and booster shots. Despite a high number of breakthrough COVID-19 cases associated with the omicron variant, vaccines are still being toted as highly effective against preventing serious illness and death.
Karras also said the vaccines are “widely available, whereas treatments are not widely available at this time.”
Patch.com has reached out to IDPH officials to get an update. We will update this article when we have more information. Sign up for Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Patch newsletters for more updates.
This article originally appeared on the Algonquin-Lake In The Hills Patch
