But it comes with a warning: It shouldn't be viewed as an alternative to getting vaccinated.
But it comes with a warning: It shouldn't be viewed as an alternative to getting vaccinated.
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But it comes with a warning: It shouldn't be viewed as an alternative to getting vaccinated.
The first doses of Merck's pill to treat COVID-19 symptoms are arriving this week in Milwaukee pharmacies.
Continuing Coverage: COVID-19 in Wisconsin
It's available by prescription only for people at high risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms.
But it comes with a warning: It shouldn't be viewed as an alternative to getting vaccinated.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, researchers have been looking for ways to treat the virus' often unpredictable attack on the human body.
The latest is a pill to treat people when they first get sick.
Pharmacist Marwa Bakr owns Infinity Pharmacy at South 60th Street and West Cleveland Avenue.
She just received her first allotment of 40 bottles of molnupiravir from the state of Wisconsin.
Each bottle contains a full course of 40 pills and has to be started within five days of the onset of symptoms.
The Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization to Merck for the pill.
But it comes with warnings that it may cause fetal harm, could have a short-term impact on the reproductive systems of women and men and can't be used by anyone under 18 because it "may affect bone and cartilage growth."
Bakr is very clear: The pill shouldn't be viewed as an alternative to getting vaccinated.
Dr. Ben Weston of the Medical College of Wisconsin agreed, saying prevention is always better than treatment.
He said the vaccines are more effective at avoiding serious illness.
"Of course, putting the two together, getting a vaccine, if you happen to have a breakthrough infection and you are high risk, taking these medications is going to be the best bet. But in no way are these medications substitutes, or safe to use as substitutes, for the vaccine," Weston told WISN 12.
The Merck COVID-19 pills are free but there is a $60 pharmacy administration fee.
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