What's the Hassle Free Way to Get COVID Therapeutics?

I just tested positive for COVID this morning and I'd like to get some paxlovid or whatever.

My primary care provider wants me to download some telemedicine app and the first available appointment is 5:15 this evening.

My wife gave me a link to some site but they want $65 to review my case with no promises.

Biden was on TV yesterday saying you can just walk into a pharmacy and they'll give you something at no cost.

Has anyone found a quick / easy way to get some meds?

Download the app and grab that 5:15 appointment. 

In the meantime, print off all of your recent health information - labs and medications, IIRC, no more than 12 months old. Call around to your area pharmacies. Pharmacists are able to prescribe it now - whether they will or not is a different story, hence my recommendation to call. 

If you don't have labs that recent, then keep looking for a doctors appointment elsewhere. I'd try urgent cares. 

Also take this opportunity to start ordering cases of cinnamon candy or something to distract you from the awful taste in your mouth.

I don't know if they're changing the rules yet, but when I got it a month or so ago the guidelines were that you had to be "high risk".  I went with asthma as my risk-maker.

Thanks for the guidance mtn & wae.

Currently on paxlovid.  Thanks Obama. 
 

I had to do a telemedicine with the doctor and I had to meet high risk criterial.   Luckily I have asthma. So boom.  
 

Basically the stuff can be hard on the liver and your doc will need to wait her order a blood test or look at a recent one before signing off. 
 

it was no cost to me. 

I had it a couple of weeks ago. I was feeling better fast enough that drugs would have been a waste and not worth the side effects. 

Note that you have to start paxlovid within 5 days of the onset of covid symptoms.

Downloaded the video visit app...got a much earlier appointment time when I called back to schedule (10:30)...very impressed with the doctor...prescription being sent now.

I haven't called in sick in over seven years and I'm already bored.

I feel significantly better than I did yesterday and I'm just hoping that this isn't the ...

In reply to 03Panther :

The tiredness does hang around for a few weeks.

In reply to 03Panther :

"the swab they did is well known to come back positive"

I work for one of the leading companies that makes COVID tests (both PCR and antigen).

Basically, there are eight major producers and we're one of the three that are tied for having the best tests.

To the best of my knowledge, all eight are better at specificity (not saying you have COVID when you don't) than sensitivity (saying you don't have COVID when you do).

In plain English, regardless of what company made your test, getting a negative result isn't as reliable of proof that you don't have COVID as getting a positive result is a proof that you do have COVID.

Typical numbers are something like 98% specificity / 85%  sensitivity so if the test is positive, there's only a 2% chance of a false positive and if the test is negative, there's a 15% of a false negative.

I've been tested twice per week for well over two years (say 150+ tests) and I've never received a positive result until today so there's some suggestion that our test is actually far better than 98% specificity.  Also, the "positive" line was lite up like a Christmas tree this morning within 45 seconds of introducing the specimen...I just watched as the regent chemical did its osmosis thing saturating the test strip to cause the control blue line to turn pink.

TLDR, if a test sez' you're sick, you're sick...if a test sez' you're not sick, ummm.    

In reply to Toyman! :

For the flu, too! If flu, it's the worst I've had. 
except shaking hands, I didn't have to change much in my life, to effectively social distance. 
one of the elders has been told that since he is vac. and boosted, he can ignore social distances. Has had covid 2 or 3 times since then, and since you supposedly only have to stay away for 5 days, he is right back sticking his hand out, with his tissues in the other hand, sniffling, and sneezing and coughing. 
I forgot myself, and shook his hand when he walked up to me a few weeks ago. Tuesday I got my hair cut. (She is vac. an boosted, but still wears her mask "cause she doesn't want anyone to give it to her!)

Tue night I was sick. We found out the elder got sick again on Monday, but didn't think he needed to tell anyone, since he is doing what "they" told him to. 
So, he got a lot of vaccinated peopl sick, I was the only non - vac. that did, and the only person I gave it to is vaccinated. 
I'm not saying anything is good, or anything is bad. Just what happened. 

In reply to RX Reven' :

I've heard that from the company's a lot. I know what nurses I know found. I was to strong in my wording, not knowing who is right, and who isn't, but I knows wats I's seen 

but since my symptoms were atypical, I can't say, in my case.
 

BTW, no clue what companies were informally tested by friends, except more than one, and yes, informal, and small scale. 
I hope my edit on that other post is better, and know offense meant to any individual employees!

In reply to 03Panther :

I'm no expert on diagnostics...I've been with my company for eighteen years doing CRM (cardiac rhythm management) and EP (Electro Physiology).

In reply to RX Reven' :

If it's not too far down a rabbit hole for the op, I'd love to hear more of that! Sound like cool stuff. 

03Panther said:

In reply to RX Reven' :

If it's not too far down a rabbit hole for the op, I'd love to hear more of that! Sound like cool stuff. 

My pleasure!

I spend about a third of my time teaching young, promising engineers at my company the statistical karate they didn't get from university.

Right now, I'm sick and I'm scheduled to visit one of our manufacturing sites in South Carolina next week...follow up with me laeter please. 

I was so busy being me, I forgot you were the op. I don't know about anyone else, but I find that funny!

OP, feel better soon!

CrustyRedXpress said:

OP, feel better soon!

Thank you!

Honestly, so far it just feels like a significant cold.  Fun fact, December will be eight years since I've called in sick for anything.

I took another COVID test this morning and like yesterday, a super dark line appeared within 30 seconds and darkness / time have been determined to correlate with viral load so I'm raging.

I'm being asked to fly to one of our facilities next Monday so I've been spending my time determining our exact company policy and working out the odds that I'll be complaint to fly on Monday...spoiler alert, they're not good.

I'd have to get a negative result on Sunday (day four) and as per the CDC, 54% people test positive on day's five through nine.

In leiu of the prescription stuff, make sure you stay hydrated, and take your vitamins (C, D3 and Zinc help the most for this) along with rest. This was all information I had to fight to obtain 8 months ago when the recommendation was "go home unless you area about to die then come to the hospital".

In reply to RX Reven' :

Having some info on test accuracy, what is your personal opinion on "when am I contagious" 

I didn't pay much attention back when I was able to live my life in such a way as to not get it! But my life has been circling the drain since then, so different!

Anyway, I remember when it was " two weeks" but that was (at that time) just a shot gun approach guess. I'm sure there is better data, now. 
When it was reduced to 5 days, it was not due to data, but economic reasons. (At the time it was done. I don't know what the reasons are now. )

I only gave it to one person, a couple hrs before I knew I was sick. Non since. 
 

03Panther said:

In reply to RX Reven' :

Having some info on test accuracy, what is your personal opinion on "when am I contagious" 

Here's a decent, quick read:

verywellhealth – June 10, 2022

In my opinion, most people are contagious enough at day five that they should avoid prolonged exposure (more than a few minutes) with others especially while indoors.

Read the article. 
When you   mentioned the 5 day mark, I think you are referring to from first symptoms. How long after last symptoms? Or is it "symptoms gone, negitive test, not contagious?"

I'm still showing mild symptoms 3 weeks later. Yesterday I was hurting... entire body! But I have fiber myalgia, so I have my moments! Last night had a fever/chills/cold sweat again. 

I'm back to avoiding people, and will remember not up shake hands (boy that is hard to do, when you were raised it's what a man does!)

Oh, and please  do not travel! Put it off 

hope yours stays mild. 

The guidance I'm following is that...

Day one begins the day you test positive not the day you first feel symptoms.

You're safe after day 10 regardless of test results.

If on day five or later you test negative, you're safe on the following day assuming you don't have a fever (no fever meds allowed), and your symptoms have improved.

I'm really sorry you're still feeling it three weeks later.

One good thing though is that it's widely believed that natural immunity provides much better protection than vaccination.  I'm not entirely unhappy that I got what appears to be a mild variant as insurance against the possibility that a worse variant emerges.  Of course, there's a tendency for variants to be more mild over time but there's no guarantee.