Supporters,

The FDA finally responded to our letter.

You can read their full response letter on our website at scripted.co/fda. But you’re not going to like it. 

Frankly, I’m outraged by what I read. 

Rather than include pharmacists as potential providers of Paxlovid & Lagevrio, the FDA cited concerns about drug side effect profiles and interactions, as well as patient pre-existing conditions. COVID-19 has cost us over 800,000 lives, I'm not sure it cares about either of those things.

In short, Dr. Jacqueline O'Shaughnessy and the FDA doubled down on their refusal to #LetUsPrescribe.

Here's what doesn’t make sense:

Pharmacists receive 8+ years of training. In that training, they become experts on drug interactions, side effect profiles, and adverse reactions to pre-existing conditions. Pharmacists are proven, capable providers of essential treatment when following a protocol. 

We are drug experts. Why won't the FDA trust pharmacists to do what we've been trained for?

We brought together almost 1,000 voices — pharmacists, concerned patients, and other medical professionals — to try and show the FDA a better way. We know that pharmacy is broken, and needs to change. We did our part: we got their attention and demanded a response. 

But they failed us. 

We have come too damn far to give up now. But to win this fight, I need all of your help. Now is the time to get even louder and even more furious than we’ve been so far.

We need friends, colleagues, acquaintances, blogs, news publications, — basically, we need everyone talking about this issue right now. This will help rural and underserved urban areas the most. 

I need your help spreading the word about this outrageous response. Here’s a sample social media post for you to copy-and-paste: 

The FDA doubled down on their refusal to let pharmacists prescribe COVID pills. 

This is SO irresponsible — join me in signing the petition to #LetUsPrescribe  scripted.co/fda 

I also need your ideas. It’s time to build a community around transforming pharmacy for the better. Do you have ideas on how to build momentum? Reach out to me at info@scripthealth.co — I really want to work with you.

Together, we can take this fight beyond just prescriptive authority for one drug. We can demand a future for the pharmacy where pharmacists practice at the top of their licenses and genuinely help patients in their communities. We can demand a future without understaffing and overworking. We can demand better when we come together. Please join us.

Until they #LetUsPrescribe, 

James Lott, Pharm.D., MPP