Biden launching 'Test to Treat' initiative providing free COVID pills

I going to make a greatest artwork as I can, by my head, my hand and by my mind./iStock via Getty Images

• During the State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Biden unveiled the "Test to Treat" initiative to provide free COVID-19 antiviral medication.
• The plan allows for individuals to receive a COVID test at a pharmacy, and if they test positive, receive a COVID pill prescription while there at no charge.
• The president said that the U.S. government is expecting 1M pills of Pfizer's (PFE +3.0%) Paxlovid this month and more than twice that next month.
• The FDA has also granted Emergency Use Authorization for Merck's (MRK +0.9%) COVID antiviral molnupiravir.
• Merck (MRK +0.9%) and partner Ridgeback Therapeutics have said they will produce 20M courses of molnupiravir this year.
• Pfizer has previously stated it will provide 20M courses to the U.S. government by the end of September.

Comments

[DavidJL615]

This is a political move that is wrong in so many ways. Biden numbers are down so they are trying to come up with ways to increase this. I do hope that he has the funds somewhere to pay for this as every time I look he is asking Congress for money. Nothing is free in life. Just a long list of bad Biden administration moves. I am sure this is counter to his we should shrink the deficit speech

[Grazi57]

Nothing is free - our taxes are paying for it… common

[brandonletsgo]

FYI everybody, Seeking Alpha is now deleting any posts that criticize Joe Biden & the Democrats, you don't even have to use any curse words. SMH. #breakupbigtech

[jbc123]

@brandonletsgo If they go down that road it’ll cost them a ton of users. Doesn’t seem to make any sense from a business perspective.

[No Identity]

The Big Guy will get his cut.

[R7]

Sold out can not continue to hold in good faith. Easy enough to find another investment without feeling comprised. A choice I can still make... for now.

[edaskew]

Paxlovid isn't something that ought to be given without a careful evaluation by a physician or mid level provider. I hope the plan isn't to do otherwise, and I can't imagine that it is. Paxlovid is a great drug, but it has a lot of medication interactions. People who are at the highest risk of a bad outcome with Covid are just the people who will be taking these medications. Most of the interacting drugs can be stopped for a few days, but with some of them there will need to be a careful risk/ benefit analysis made.

[jbc123]

The guy’s brilliance is truly blinding!

[Turkey Trot]

He is Johnny on the spot! lol

[Middle American]

Since the beginning of 2020, Pfizer's revenue has doubled, income has more than tripled. They have an FDA approved treatment for the endemic phase of the pandemic, and the stock is only up 17% since then. P/E is only 6.5. This despite a 3.4% dividend. What is the market saying?

[edaskew]

@Middle American It's doing the same thing it did in November of 2020 when it valued XOM in the 30's. The stock's price is disconnected from the real value of the business. PFE is a tremendous money making machine. I think, psychologically, the company is connected to Covid. All of us are sick and tired of Covid, and sick and tired of hearing about Covid. We want Covid gone and many think it is gone. Unfortunately is isn't gone and probably will never be gone. I believe tons of money will be made on preventing and treating Covid for a long time; ten years or more. Pfizer might not make as much on the vaccine as they did last year, but they will more than make up with it with Paxlovid, and they have a potentially even better antiviral coming (one without the drug interactions). If you cut Covid revenues out of it, which would be unreasonable, the company is probably still undervalued.

[buckiowa]

@Middle American worried about lawsuits

[Middle American]

Not free. Subsidize by taxpayers to the tune of $530 per person treated. Do the math. Buy PFE.

[kb9wnt]

@Middle American Give me the $530 and I can buy $5 worth of ivveemeaktim

[Blowback2]

@Middle American Taxpayers ‘subsidize ‘ NOTHING that they get back. Also: Social Security is NOT an entitlement. See if you can connect the dots….

[1504661]

Let's instead just let Darwin decide this.

..or stop allowing the unvaccinated to steal unlimited free covid healthcare
that they otherwise don't need if they " believed " in science.

Their collective willful ignorance is costing billions in easily avoidable costs.

[User 52335558]

@1504661 I hope you're contributing something to their bills via tax money. I am, and I'm glad to. I'll contribute a little for someone else to enjoy medical freedom, and I won't cry about it.

[Blowback2]

@1504661 Agree. But as I’ve warned others on this forum….careful with the logic. You may hurt someone!

[User 52335558]

@Blowback2 People literally give their life in wars so that you can have freedom, one of those freedoms being not forced to participate in new vaccine trials. Have some respect.

[wanster]

"free COVID pills" So just drop a few in those 'free' test kits.

[kyle191]

@wanster ..I never received my "Free" N-95 mask that Brandon promised.

What happened there?

[tyoungt1]

@wanster can I get the crack pipe at the same time I get the covid pills? Asking for a friend.

[wanster]

@tyoungt1 Yes indeed - enter the word 'Joe' in the promo box and your order will be delivered Priority Next Day Air (also free) ! ~~

[Randol33]

Put another nail in the NVAX coffin.

[kyle191]

So you get a pill at the pharmacy that gives you COVID? /s Reference "Holocaust Ring" in the movie "The Hangover"

Why do we need a pill? I thought the vaxes were the magic cure and prevention?

Were these pills authorized under Emergency Powers too? What is in them? What exactly do they treat? Who is making money off of them?

So many questions. I am sure to be labeled "idiot", "anti-vaxer", "Trump lover", "selfish", and "old person killer".

[imogen8]

@kyle191 People at high risk are not fully covered by vaccines, particularly with Omicron, and there is an arguement that we are ethically obligated to still try to save the lives of anti-vaxxers. Keepign people out of hospitals (even if they don't die) will save millions. Hospitalizations and long-term effects are very expensive.

[tman1]

@kyle191 pull up PFE (Pfizer) and do some easy reading. Might have heard....lots of folks won't take the prevention (vaccine+booster) but will quickly get in line for the cure ...this "pill"--actually a few pills a day for 5-day course, (will keep those infected out of hospital/dying). Seems pretty simple to me, meet people where they are "at".

[kyle191]

@tman1 ..So back to my question...this pill didn't develop itself overnight. So why not just prescribe it at the first positive test of COVID? That way you could skip the dangerous (all though rare) side effects of a vaccine that is widely reported.

Again...I'm not anti vax. I am pro information and common sense.

[scott7122]

Giving them away because nobody wants them.

[tman1]

@scott7122 completely incorrect. Can't produce fast enough for demand would be correct.

[dandroidz]

No charge. Right. Just like debt forgiveness. Money comes from somewhere. Business taxes, income taxes, money printing (inflation)....
Of course when over 50% of taxpayers are NET TAKERS it is of course "free"

[1504661]

@dandroidz
and Republicans are "entitled" to waste as much free healthcare
as they want. No one is forcing republicans to intentionally incur
billions of dollars of unnecessary healthcare.

While you childishly complain about " takers ",
most red states currently fail to pull their own weight.
Most red states exist on " soshulism " from larger states.
It's called a crisis in USA education.

[dandroidz]

@1504661 Who brought political affiliations into this? Statistics show over half of USA tax "payers" have a net negative tax burden on the system.

[1504661]

You are absolutely correct...

Most of Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana, Kansas,
Oklahoma, Nebraska, ...all remain a negative tax burden on the system.
They are " TAKERS " who don't pull their own weight.

[bill h illify]

Well, again “no charge/free” is a terrible way to describe it…there is no such thing.

[Marrk]

@bill h illify It will be paid for by the American people because the American people prefer to save themselves rather than die like slaves. Kind of like Ukraine (only the American people are not as American as the Ukrainians are proving themselves to be). By the way, Ronnie Reagan is dead, and Mar-a-Lago will soon be converted to a Planned Parenthood facility. Fear of "big government" may disturb your sleep, but you'll get used to it.

Long PFE, MRK, JNJ

[bill h illify]

@Marrk
Interesting commentary…I am long PFE MRK JNJ as well…also AMGN GILD LLY

[imogen8]

@bill h illify Preventing hospitalization (even if they don't die) is cheaper than paying for hospitalizations and long-term chronic diseases possibly caused by the virus. It's always more cost-effective to be preventative. Hospitalizations are extremely expensive, and we are breaking the backs of our healthcare workers right now. It's not sustainable. How much will it cost taxpayers when they can't get medical care because of understaffing?

I just had a friend with three small children die of an infection that was missed (no labs done prior to discharge) in the ER because the hospitals were on divergence for Covid last month. Overstaffed and exhausted staff leads to other deaths and missed diagnoses completely separate from Covid.