ST PAUL, Minn. — *Editor's Note: The above video first aired Dec. 29, 2021.
Nearly 5,000 courses of oral antiviral COVID-19 vaccination treatment has been allocated for Minnesota, however not all the shipments have arrived, according to state health officials.
The Minnesota Department of Health says 880 courses of Paxlovid and 4,080 courses of molnupiravir have been allocated, but some shipments have been delayed, especially with molnupiravir. An official with MDH says those shipments are expected to arrive this week.
Due to there being an extremely limited supply of both Paxlovid and molnupiravir, distribution will likely prioritize people with the highest risk of severe illness.
And not every medical provider is being supplied with these treatments. According to MDH, distribution was determined by the Minnesota COVID-19 Ethics Collaborative, the MDH Science Advisory Team, clinical advisors and health care systems. As of now, MDH says only certain providers — larger health care systems and some smaller clinics — have been given the oral medications.
Paxlovid, which is made by Pfizer, is reportedly taken three pills at a time, twice a day, for five days.
"Paxlovid is used for people with less than five days of symptoms, that are high risk," Dr. David Boulware from the University of Minnesota told KARE 11 back in December. "The biggest (range of) people who are going to benefit are those who are immunocompromised or have a weakened immune system."
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Merck's molnupiravir is administered as four 200 milligram capsules every 12 hours for five days.
MDH says that anyone interested in receiving either treatment should reach out to their health care provider to determine availability and what treatment best suits their needs.
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