Just days before Christmas, the FDA authorized emergency use of two oral drugs to stave off symptoms of COVID-19 —and keep more people out of hospitals.
The drugs are Paxlovid, made by Pfizer, and Molnupiravir, manufactured by Merck, but you may have a hard time finding them.
On Thursday, Salt Lake’s Jolley’s Compounding Pharmacy — in business for more than 60 years — said it would like to carry the drugs, but can’t get them.
“Are people asking you for these drugs?” 2News asked pharmacist Benjamin Jolley.
"Yes, just yesterday I had a physician call at seven in the morning before we opened, left a voicemail, saying, 'I need a prescription for Paxlovid,'” he replied.
“What did you tell him?“
“It was a voicemail, so I called the patient, and said, ‘Hey, you’re going to have to go to the InstaCare because we can’t get it.’”
Very few doses of the medications have been allotted to Utah from the federal government, according to the Utah Department of Health.
“On antivirals, we received 440 courses last week,“ said department spokesman Tom Hudachko, “and only get resupplied every other week.”
Paxlovid is authorized for people 12 and older who come down with COVID and are not in serious condition.
Molnupiravir is for those 18 and older, but the FDA says it may cause birth defects and should not be used by pregnant women.
Darren Nord, who tested positive for COVID last week, said he searched out Molnupiravir and had difficulty getting a prescription for it. But he was eventually able to purchase the drug at a CVS pharmacy.