COVID-19 Medications Are Available for You to Prescribe to Your Patients: Update from the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department
Prescribe the Oral Antiviral Paxlovid to Your Patients
· When given early in the course of infection, medications like Paxlovid can reduce the likelihood of severe symptoms, hospitalization, and death.
· The National Institute of Health COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines recommends Paxlovid, an oral antiviral, and Remdesivir, an intravenous antiviral, as preferential therapeutics based on their efficacy and convenience of use.
· If neither Paxlovid nor Remdesivir are available or clinically appropriate, the NIH recommends providers use the following alternative therapies: Molnupiravir, an oral antiviral, or Bebtelovimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment.
Prescribe Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Now to Immunocompromised Patients
· EVUSHELD is a pre-exposure prophylaxis treatment. This medication is for people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised due to a medical condition or receipt of immunosuppressive treatments, or for people who have history of a severe adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine or a COVID-19 vaccine component.
Where Are These Medications Available?
· The medications are available at many sites. To find locations, see the COVID-19 therapeutics locator.
· Test-to-treat centers are available in our area. Be sure to educate your at-risk patients about test-to-treat centers, which act as a one-stop shop for COVID-19 testing and treatment prescriptions. Many retail pharmacies like CVS are participating. These sites may be your patients’ fastest access to these medications, if you do not have same-day appointments available.
o To find COVID-19 Test-to-Treat locations, visit the federal government test-to-treat locator.
If you utilize County of Santa Clara Valley Health Center pharmacies to prescribe antivirals, it’s easier than ever to prescribe. Valley Health Center, or VHC, pharmacies no longer have a reservation system for COVID-19 oral antivirals.
· To prescribe a COVID-19 antiviral to a County-operated Valley Health Center pharmacy, just pick a Valley Health Center pharmacy and issue your prescription.
· All Valley Health Center pharmacies have oral antivirals. Supply is not an issue.
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