Westmoreland County commissioner prescribed COVID-19 pill after falling ill

GREENSBURG, Pa. — “This infection, this course or this bout, was much easier than the first time in October of 2020.”

Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew has been quarantined after his second stint with COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic.

While he doesn’t know which variant he has now, his doctor prescribed him Pfizer’s new COVID pill to help treat his symptoms.

“We decided to try Paxlovid, Pfizer’s new oral medication for COVID, and I started that prescription on Monday. It’s a five-day course of medicine, twice a day, and by Wednesday, I was already starting to feel better,” Chew said.

Chew told Channel 11 he’s not vaccinated because he didn’t want to take a vaccine away from his constituents early on in the pandemic.

While vaccines are now prevalent, Pfizer’s new COVID pills are not.

“He (my doctor) was aware that in Westmoreland County there was only one pharmacy that had Paxlovid and it was a Giant Eagle,” Chew said.

“It is available on the market but with a very very limited supply. In Allegheny County, for example, there are only three retail pharmacies that have the supply on hand,” Dr. Arpit Mehta, director of pharmacy at AHN, said.

Dr. Mehta said while the COVID pill is effective, the supply is so limited they’re only prescribing it to at-risk patients.

“Folks that are of older age, over 65, people with obesity, pregnancy, diabetes, immunosuppressed patient population … folks with sickle cell, liver disease, history of cancer, stroke, kidney disease,” Mehta said.

Chew said he fell into that category because of hypertension, which is why he said his UPMC doctor prescribed it.

Both Chew and Mehta are hoping Paxlovid becomes more readily available to help prevent hospitalizations and death in COVID patients.

“A lot of the population health data we’ll see as more people in the US receive the medication, more data will come from it, but as far as we know, it’s effective against the current variant which is prominent in our area,” Mehta said.

Dr. Mehta said the COVID pill is not an alternative to getting vaccinated.

He is still encouraging folks to get a vaccine and booster shots to help protect yourself and those around you.

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