https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/26/fact-sheet-biden-administration-increases-access-to-covid-19-treatments-and-boosts-patient-and-provider-awareness/
FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Increases Access to COVID-19 Treatments and Boosts Patient and Provider Awareness
APRIL 26, 2022
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STATEMENTS AND RELEASES
Driven by President Biden’s comprehensive COVID-19 response, there are now more tools than ever before to protect people from the virus, including highly-effective treatments. Over the past 15 months, the Administration has pulled levers across the federal government and deployed resources Congress provided to expedite the development, production, and procurement of COVID-19 treatments. As a result, the U.S. now has several treatments available that can help keep people out of the hospital and save lives.
One of the most effective available treatments is Pfizer’s oral antiviral pill, Paxlovid, which has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by about 90 percent. The U.S. has committed to purchase 20 million treatment courses—more than any other country in the world. Although Paxlovid was initially in short supply after Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization, the Administration has worked with Pfizer to accelerate the delivery of these pills, and they are now in ample supply. The President’s National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan lays out a roadmap for ensuring that these pills, along with other treatments, are available for any American who needs one.
Since December 2021, the Administration has distributed COVID-19 oral antivirals directly to states, Tribes, territories, and community health centers for free. States and territories play an important role in distributing these treatments to health care providers, pharmacies, and other locations, and any doctor can prescribe treatments. In March, as supply began to ramp up, the President announced the Test-to-Treat initiative to help make it easier for people at high risk of severe disease to quickly access oral antiviral treatments. The Test-to-Treat initiative creates additional locations where people can get a COVID-19 test, a visit with a medical provider, and, if needed, free oral antiviral pills—all in one visit.
To date, the Administration has worked with pharmacies, long-term care facilities, community health centers, and other health care settings to establish more than 2,200 Test-to-Treat sites around the country, including sites specifically for military families and veterans. As a result, usage of oral antivirals has more than doubled over the last several weeks.
Today, the Administration is announcing new actions to make these treatments even easier to access and to make sure health care providers and patients know about their safety, efficacy, and availability. These actions will help strengthen and further build the infrastructure to ensure that lifesaving treatments for COVID-19 are quickly distributed around the country, widely available, and easy to access. At the same time, ensuring that this remains the case—and securing more and even better treatments—will require additional funding from Congress.
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