The American Medical Association (AMA) released a statement on March 4 warning against the against a “test-totreat” plan that the Biden administration has proposed saying the approach “flaunts patient safety and risks significant negative health outcomes.”
“The AMA is pleased the administration is ramping up supply of antivirals so in the near future they will be broadly available, but, in the meantime, establishing pharmacy-based clinics as one-stop shopping for COVID-19 testing and treatments is extremely risky,” according to the organization.
The AMA said the plan was “well-intentioned” but claimed it oversimplified challenging prescribing decisions by “omitting knowledge of a patient’s medical history, the complexity of drug interactions and managing possible negative reactions.”
The AMA noted for exam ple, that Pfizer’s Paxlovid — a COVID antiviral pill Biden would make available through the test-to-treat plan, but the Pfizer’s drug also has six pages of drug interactions, including interactions that may require a patient to hold, change or reduce doses of other medications.
Another example is Molnupiravir, Merck’s COVID pill, which the AMA pointed out also has restrictions. It is not authorized for people under 18 because it can affect bone cartilage growth, and it should not be used during pregnancy or while breastfeeding
Ȧccording to the AMA, pharmacy-based clinics typically treat simple illnesses, but noted that COVID-19 is a complex disease and there are many issues to consider when prescribing COVID-19 antiviral medications. Leaving prescribing decisions this complex in the hands of people without knowledge of a patient’s medical history is dangerous in practice and precedent.
As The Defender reported on March 3, Biden last week announced a new “test-totreat” initiative during his State of the Union address that would allow Americans who test positive for COVID at a pharmacy to obtain free antiviral pills “on the spot.”
Biden said the new initiative is a key part of a revamped national strategy to return the country to normal.
According to a White House official, the plan involves hundreds of one-stop-shops that in March will open across the
U.S. at retail locations including CVS, Walgreens and Kroger with plans to expand.
The program would be a multi-billion-dollar windfall for pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Merck, who manufacture the two COVID antiviral pills that would be made available under the program.
Experts immediately responded to the news, expressing concern the test-to-treat plan would allow patients to bypass doctors who are obligated to warn patients of the risks associated with a particular medication.
Dr. Madhava Setty, senior science editor at The Defender, said the Biden administration’s test-to-treat plan is an “audacious attempt to undermine the doctor-patient relationship.”
“Are physicians going to let our government directly treat patients at so-called “one-stop shops” with yet-to-be-approved agents?” Setty asked. “Not for long.”
Setty said the plan will backfire as doctors “put up stiff resistance” to a plan that will negatively impact patients’ health.
Pfizer and Merck oversaw clinical trials that attempted to prove their products were safe and effective. In the letters of authorization issued to Pfizer and Merck, the FDA outlined what tests were done, what the results were, what some of the limitations and concerns are, etc
Ḋetailed advisories were generated for healthcare providers for Paxlovid and Molnupiravir by the FDA, with specifics about use restrictions (e.g., not to children), potentially adverse effects of each drug (e.g., not to be used by pregnant women, etc.), potential conflicts with other drugs.
Key points to consider regarding the testing of Paxlovid and Molnupiravir data that reinforce that a pharmacist should not be handing out pills based on a positive Covid test:
-The tests were conducted by the pharmaceutical companies themselves (not an unbi ased entity).
-No long-term testing was done on either of these drugs.
-The effects on patients with many other diseases and drug interactions were not evaluated and remain unknown.
-The reported effectiveness of each drug (hospitalization or death: 88% and 30%) are relative not absolute.
-What if the test is a false positive?
Despite the erosion of trust the public has for the medical system, people still trust doctors’ opinions more than the bureaucrats who are openly colluding with Big Pharma,” Setty said. “This plan will backfire in our government’s face for all to see.”