When Will COVID-19 Pills Be Available In Colorado?

ACROSS COLORADO — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is preparing to make decisions on COVID-19 pills from Merck and Pfizer by the end of the month, and Coloradans and millions of other Americans might be able to pick up coronavirus treatments at pharmacies shortly after.

This comes as good news for Colorado, which is seeing an average of 3,060 cases per day, 102 new hospital admissions per week, and 1,334 hospital beds are occupied by patients with coronavirus, according to the latest data from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.

According to Pfizer studies, adults taking their pills had a tenfold decrease in virus levels compared to those on the placebo. Other studies have shown that the Pfizer pill reduces combined hospitalizations and deaths by about 89% among 2,250 high-risk adults when taken shortly after COVID-19 symptoms. Early studies have also shown that it is effective against the omicron variant.

The Merck pill was shown to reduce hospitalizations and death by 30% in high-risk adults, according to data submitted to the FDA last month.

If the FDA approves the pills, Colorado doctors could immediately order pills for their patients directly from medical distributors, although the federal government will likely place initial limits on the number of pills they can order.

That may present challenges, because patients will need to take 30 to 40 pills over a five-day period, and begin treatment within three days of infection. Health experts worry high-risk infected patients may not be able to get tested and treated within that short timeframe. Studies of a similar drug used to limit the impacts of influenza show that only 40 percent of high-risk patients got diagnosed within the necessary three-day window.

Despite the challenges, health officials are calling the new pills a “game changer.”

"This is truly a game changer," said Dr. Daniel Griffin, an expert on infectious diseases and immunology at Columbia University, told CNN. "This is up there with vaccines. It's not a substitute for vaccines; we still want to get people vaccinated. But, boy, this is just another great tool to have."

Patch staffers Dave Copeland and J. Ryne Danielson contributed to this report.