TEAXS — The Food and Drug Administration recently authorized two COVID-19 antiviral medications, and they are now available in select Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies in Texas.

What You Need To Know

  • Walmart has announced that COVID-19 antiviral pills produced by Pfizer and Merck are now available at select pharmacies in Texas

  • The drugs will be in limited supply for the time being and require a prescription

  • Pfizer earlier in December said its drug, Paxlovid, is 89% effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization or death if given within three days of onset symptoms, and 88% if given within five days

  • Merck’s pill, molnupiravir, was shown to cut the risk of hospitalization and death in high-risk patients by 30% in a clinical trial

Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Merck’s molnupiravir require a prescription and will be available as supplies allow, Walmart said.

To see if the drugs are available at a Walmart or Sam’s Club pharmacy near you, click here. 

A check on Friday morning showed the antiviral medications available at eight stores in the Austin area, 40 pharmacies in the Dallas area and a handful of pharmacies near San Antonio.

Because the drugs are for those who have tested positive for COVID-19, they will only be available via curbside pickup or drive-thru pharmacy windows.

“We are committed to working with our state and federal partners to provide access to new treatment options like authorized COVID-19 antiviral medications, as they become available,” said Kevin Host, senior vice president of pharmacy. “This medication offers customers the option to recover at home and helps reduce the burden on our hospitals and communities.”

Pfizer earlier in December announced that its COVID-19 pill is highly effective at preventing severe illness and death, and also noted that it’s effective against the newly discovered omicron variant — though further studies are needed.

Pfizer said Paxlovid, is 89% effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization or death if given within three days of onset symptoms, and 88% if given within five days.

"This news provides further corroboration that our oral antiviral candidate, if authorized or approved, could have a meaningful impact on the lives of many, as the data further support the efficacy of PAXLOVID in reducing hospitalization and death and show a substantial decrease in viral load," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. “This underscores the treatment candidate’s potential to save the lives of patients around the world.”

Molnupiravir, a joint effort by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, cut the risk of hospitalization and death in high-risk patients by 30% in a clinical trial.

Merck's pill was authorized for patients 18 and older who are at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19 "for whom alternative COVID-19 treatment options authorized by the FDA are not accessible or clinically appropriate."