Roadblocks for treatment: Here's how to get the take-home pill for COVID in NC

WRAL Investigates found North Carolina has used just 28% of the Paxlovid it has received from the federal government since late last year -- and just 15% of the less-effective Molnupiravir.

While demand for treatment has gone down, there are also roadblocks in the process of getting a prescription -- including needing to get it prescribed within five days of symptoms starting.

The process of getting the prescription begins with visiting the federal test-to-treat locator website. When WRAL News tried the process ourselves, it took us to the CVS on Landmark Drive in Raleigh, where you can get tested, evaluated and prescribed Paxlovid in about 30 minutes.

However, that outcome is not always the case at neighborhood pharmacies.

Tiffany Barber, owner of Hillsborough Pharmacy, says they are the only spot within 10 miles testing patients for COVID and prescribing pills at the same time.

“Once the rapid test comes back, maybe 15 minutes, and then the prescription comes over and that’s 15 minutes, and then it’s out the door," she explained.

That quick process is only possible because of the pharmacy’s partnership with IndyCare, next door.

“The patient comes here and then the pharmacy. I mean, they don’t even have to go inside," said Franklin Roye, President of IndyCare.

Pills like Paxlovid are helping patients to reduce symptoms.

"I took three pills and went to bed," said John Gilliam, who was prescribed Paxlovid. "Woke up and felt almost instantly better -- like magic."

John Gilliam, a WRAL employee, got a prescription from his family doctor — but not all physicians have been quick to write a script.

Dr. David Wohl, an infectious disease physician at UNC Health, says some doctors don't know how to prescribe Paxlovid.

“That’s right, and what the issue is: Paxlovid can interact with lots of other medicines. So really it’s incumbent upon the provider to check your medication lists," Wohl explains.

Wohl is disappointed in the federal government’s rollout of test-to-treat. There are just 50 locations in central North Carolina. Most are CVS locations — with very few independent pharmacies on board.

“We lose money when we dispense this because you have labeling, you have got time involved to make sure the patients are safe so there are not many pharmacies that are going to carry it," said Barber.

Barber says even though it’s not a money-maker, she's here for the community, and she feels it's important to keep her customers protected.

“The big thing that qualifies most of us is weight. Over 80% of people in the United States qualify for weight alone. This is not for the rarest of the rare patients," said Wohl.

This week, the Biden administration said they want to double the number of pharmacies nationwide where Paxlovid is available, telling doctors they shouldn’t think twice about prescribing the medication to eligible patients.