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The “test to treat” initiative — announced earlier this week in President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address — promises to help people get rapid access to COVID-19 treatments as soon as they learn they’ve tested positive.
The Biden administration says it will establish “one-stop test to treat” locations in pharmacies, community health centers, long-term care facilities and Veterans Affairs facilities across the country in March.
Dr. Michael Mina, a former assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and now chief science officer at biotech software company eMed, explained on Twitter how the new initiative has the potential to “transform the impact of future surges to be dramatically more manageable.”
The “test to treat” plan shortens the process of receiving a prescription for antiviral medicine. President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that his administration has bought 20 million doses of Pfizer’s antiviral pills, and the company is set to provide an additional 1 million this month and 2 million next month.
Mina said linking rapid tests and immediate treatment options is “just smart,” and that treating people quickly and equitably will help lessen the role of the virus in society.
Under the new plan, by the end of the month CVS and Walgreens locations will be able to provide free Pfizer antiviral pills for those who test positive for COVID-19.
Of course, prescribing antiviral pills is not always the right solution for someone with COVID. But Mina said many pharmacists are well positioned to prescribe antivirals, and including them in the plan will help fight the low access issues antiviral treatments are currently facing.
“We need better national level guidance from [the American Medical Association], [Infectious Diseases Society of America] and pharmacy societies and others for treatment algorithms so that if someone is not eligible for oral antivirals, the decision tree for what’s next is not complicated and we aren’t always reinventing the wheel,” wrote Mina.
Mina said hearing Biden talk about the “test to treat” plan at his State of the Union address Tuesday was “amazing.”
“It marks a major milestone in the pandemic,” Mina wrote. “Now is the hard part to make it a reality, and make the most use of the rapid tests myself and others have fought so hard to see materialize.”
Mina is not the only doctor excited to hear about the president’s new plan. Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician and associate dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, called Biden’s announcement of the “test to treat” initiative her “favorite moment of the speech.”
Some kinks to work on but @POTUS effort to link #rapidtests directly to treatment can transform the impact of future surges to be dramatically more manageable (and alter how we deal with influenza too!)
— Michael Mina (@michaelmina_lab) March 3, 2022
A short thread on what it means & what’s needed
1/https://t.co/zMoHIDtbXa
Second, we need to make access to test-to-treat equitable, accessible AND fast
— Michael Mina (@michaelmina_lab) March 3, 2022
After 2 years (+ massive efforts) Americans now have rapid tests in their homes – for free!
Linking At-Home tests to treatment is the Best way to enhance speed, access equity for Early treatment
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If Test to Treat is limited to only those pharmacies and locations that have medical doctors and similar providers, then a major Test to Treat program is a bit of an illusion bc it’s what we already have today. Low access and difficulty for people to figure out where to go.
— Michael Mina (@michaelmina_lab) March 3, 2022
5/
Fifth, Importantly, more oral antivirals are being produced. We no longer have a massive void and In weeks we should expect to see a near 10x increase. This means that Test to Treat can truly be widely available and change the course of the pandemic
— Michael Mina (@michaelmina_lab) March 3, 2022
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Sixth, Critically, at home Test-to-Treat has added benefit not just of fast access but also reduces need for infectious ppl to be around others in pharmacies/clinics
— Michael Mina (@michaelmina_lab) March 3, 2022
Requiring ppl to leave home when infectious is not smart -and those who benefit from Rx are still infectious!
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For others still, they may go to brick and mortar MD clinics, medical doctors at their senior living facility, VA hospital etc. these are very important places for test to treat as well, but Test-to-Treat shouldn’t be limited to these bc we’ve seen they aren’t v accessible
— Michael Mina (@michaelmina_lab) March 3, 2022
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Making Test-to-Treat accessible and a reality for Americans is one of the major reasons I left my faculty position at @HarvardChanSPH @CCDD_HSPH …to build on my research and create something that will save lives. And it’s precisely what I’ve been working daily on ever since
— Michael Mina (@michaelmina_lab) March 3, 2022
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If similar Test-to-Treat can become available at home or at local pharmacies & clinics for Flu, Strep, STIs, etc, the impact of these pathogens can become remarkably reduced, saving tremendously on medical care costs, keeping ppl at work and school and keeping ppl healthier
— Michael Mina (@michaelmina_lab) March 3, 2022
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