Paxlovid will be a treatment option at Moorhead Covid-19 testing site

Paxlovid a Pfizer prescription pill for people with Covid will be distributed in select locations in the Fargo Moorhead area.

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) – The Pfizer prescription pill Paxlovid, for people with Covid will be available soon in select locations throughout Minnesota.

The Moorhead location is at the former Thomas Edison Elementary school at 1110 14th Street South.

What sets these clinics apart is after getting a test people wait in their car for 15 minutes for a result and if they test positive, they can immediately see a clinician, a nurse practitioner or a physician, who’s licensed to prescribe antiviral pills.

“That help reduce the risk of death and hospitalizations from Covid 19, it’s specifically intended for people with certain risk factors,” Planning Director for Minnesota Department of Health Walter James said.

Some of those risk factors covered are people over 65, to people with cancer and diabetes.

They will go over a patient’s medical history and see if they’re taking any other medications to make sure there are no bad interactions. If you are cleared they will prescribe you the pills and then you can pick them up at a pharmacy.

You take the pills a couple times a day for five days and should begin to feel better.

“All these things that increase the risk of hospitalization or death associated with Covid-19. These pills, these oral antivirus, pills help reduce those risks by driving down the viral load for these people,” James said.

There will be multiple locations operating in Minnesota.

“We just opened up a test to treat site in Brooklyn Park Minnesota in the Twin Cities Metro Area today and, then for Moorhead we’ll be opening up on June 13th. So once you go for testing at the Moorhead location on June 13th,” James said.

From there they’re working on opening two more.

“Duluth will be online starting June 14th at the Duluth Convention Center, and then we’re also hoping to get the Minneapolis St Paul international airport testing location,” James said.