Uber, DoorDash will deliver Paxlovid from Walgreens for free to vulnerable neighborhoods

Uber and DoorDash will deliver prescriptions for the covid antiviral Paxlovid filled through Walgreens for free to underserved neighborhoods, the companies announced Monday. The partnership is part of new pandemic response efforts from the White House.

“This partnership is yet another way in which Uber’s technology can help Americans recover from the pandemic and make lifesaving healthcare more accessible,” Caitlin Donovan, general manager of Uber Health, said in a statement.

Paxlovid reduces the risk of hospitalization and death from covid. It has to be taken within a few days of symptoms first appearing to be most effective, so getting the pills quickly is important.

This initiative, which will launch in the coming weeks, is available to people living in communities considered socially vulnerable on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index.

The White House says the program will improve access to covid treatments. People in vulnerable neighborhoods are less likely to get antiviral drugs, according to a CDC analysis published this summer. But the program still gives people multiple hoops to jump through in order to get the drug: they have to see a doctor to get the prescription, make sure the prescription is filled by Walgreens, and then navigate either the Walgreens website or app to set up the delivery.