SNFs Could Soon Receive Covid Antiviral Pills as Part of Biden’s Latest Pandemic Plan

Nursing homes will be among the recipients of more than one million doses of Pfizer’s antiviral pills made available this month – that’s hundreds of thousands more doses than expected, with more than double that amount to be made available in April.

Heightened production of antiviral pill Paxlovid, designed to treat COVID-19, is part of the Biden administration’s next phase in its pandemic response briefly referenced in the president’s State of the Union address. Biden outlined a “test to treat” initiative during his speech as well, connecting patients with the pill at no cost as soon as they test positive for Covid.

Pills will be distributed directly to long-term care facilities as part of the initiative, according to reports from The New York Times and Axios.

“If you’re immunocompromised or have some other vulnerability, we have treatments in free, high quality mass, leaving no one behind or ignoring anyone’s needs as we move forward,” Biden said during his speech Tuesday night.

The Pfizer pills have been notoriously scarce since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized them for emergency use late last year.

Currently, the Pfizer pill is apportioned to state health departments which then distribute to local pharmacies, health systems and long-term care facilities as they see fit.

Some states have not restricted Paxlovid access based on high risk of hospitalization and mortality – clinician guidance per state ranges from zero, like in Tennessee, while others like Indiana, Maryland and Pennsylvanie advise but don’t require access restrictions based on hospitalization risk and mortality, an NBC News article stated.

Other antiviral pills to treat COVID-19 like molnupiravir, co-developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, have been more widely available but isn’t the preferred therapeutic – with providers citing lower efficacy and safety concerns.

As of January, the U.S. government’s contract with Pfizer moved up production targets and doubled the order to 20 million treatment courses, according to an NPR article detailing the contract agreement.

The U.S. is spending $530 for each five-day course of Paxlovid, but its contract with Pfizer may lower the price if another country gets a better deal, the NPR article stated.

The White House introduced its new detailed coronavirus response strategy on Wednesday, on top of its sweeping nursing home reforms first announced late Monday.