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Where to get the COVID pill or monoclonal antibody therapy in Colorado

Lanie Lee Cook

FILE - This image provided by Pfizer shows the company's COVID-19 Paxlovid pills. Pfizer's and Merck's COVID-19 pills that were supposed to be an important weapon against the pandemic in the U.S. are in short supply and have played little role in the fight against the omicron wave of infections. (Pfizer via AP, File)

DENVER (KDVR) — Monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19 is harder to find in Colorado since the spread of the omicron variant, but the state is now receiving shipments of the new pills available to treat the disease.

In the week of Jan. 14, Colorado received more than 6,800 of the two pills authorized to treat COVID-19, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Meanwhile, the federal government has limited monoclonal antibody therapy supplies because only one of the available treatments, sotrovimab, is likely to be effective against omicron. (Read more on that here: FDA stops use of antibody drugs that don’t work against omicron)

The state said it’s using what it does receive on the people most at risk from the coronavirus.

“As of January 2022, the federal government is supplying an extremely limited quantity of these medications, significantly impacting the frequency at which we are able to provide them,” CDPHE said in a news release. “We are hopeful that the supply of monoclonal antibody treatment and oral antivirals will ramp up significantly in the coming months.”

Where to get the COVID pill in Colorado

Colorado has begun receiving biweekly shipments of two different pills, which are available to people at high risk of hospitalization or death from COVID:

Pfizer’s Paxlovid is available for people age 12 and older and who weigh at least 88 pounds. Merck’s molnupiravir is available to adults age 18 and up. Either medication must be given within five days of the onset of symptoms.

Colorado receives the treatments and distributes them to healthcare systems, according to the state. To get the treatment, talk to a doctor or healthcare provider.

Oral antiviral treatments received the week of Jan. 14:

Where to get monoclonal antibody treatment in Colorado

There are options for finding monoclonal antibody treatment in Colorado, even as supplies are limited because most of the drugs are not effective against the omicron variant. Find places to get monoclonal antibody treatment at these websites:

The state said it would finish converting its eight monoclonal antibody therapy buses to COVID-19 test sites by Jan. 15. Instead, people can make an appointment at one of these state-led clinics:

Find a list of upcoming available appointments at COMassVax.org or call the COVID-19 hotline at 1-877-CO VAX VO (1-877-268-2926) for help. The hotline is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. MT and on Saturday-Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. MT.

Monoclonal antibody treatments received the week of Jan. 14: