Missouri’s New Law Protects Doctors Who Prescribe Ivermectin ‘Off-Label’

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: New Missouri Law Protects Doctors Who Prescribe Off-Label Drugs Ivermectin And Hydroxychloroquine 
A new law in Missouri prohibits pharmacists from questioning doctors who prescribe the controversial off-label drugs ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for patients. The measure, which goes into effect in August, was signed Tuesday by Gov. Mike Parson after it was approved by the Legislature in May. Under the law, state medical licensing boards would be prohibited from punishing or taking away the medical licenses of doctors who “lawfully” prescribe the two drugs, which became unproven alternatives to treating COVID-19 among people who opposed vaccinations. (Erickson, 6/7)

CIDRAP: Molnupiravir Cut Need For Higher Levels Of Care In Non-Severe COVID-19
Nonhospitalized, unvaccinated COVID-19 patients who received Merck's antiviral molnupiravir had less need for respiratory support and fewer acute-care visits than those given a placebo, finds the secondary analysis of the phase 2/3 randomized, controlled MOVe-OUT trial published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. (6/7)

Becker's Hospital Review: 26 Million People Stuck In Paxlovid 'Deserts'
At-home COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid was inaccessible to more than 26 million Americans January through March, according to a recent GoodRx analysis. The pharmacy "deserts" spanned 42 percent of the nation's counties and mainly fell in rural areas. One of the possible causes for the supply drought is the shaky test-to-treat initiative, which faces fewer COVID-19 tests and a public wary of taking a new medication. (Twenter, 6/7)

In updates on the vaccine rollout —

Stat: Homeless, Incarcerated People In Minnesota Had Low Covid Vaccine Access
Homeless and incarcerated people had significantly lower Covid vaccination rates than others in Minnesota, according to a new study. Its authors say the findings highlight lingering inequities, even in a state that has prioritized vaccinating socially vulnerable groups. The study, published Monday in Health Affairs, is the first to analyze such a wide swath of people — its data set compared about 90% of Minnesota residents. It found just one third of people in jail and less than 30% of homeless people had been fully vaccinated by the end of 2021; less than 10% of people in these groups had received boosters. About 70% of the state’s residents overall had been vaccinated. (Sheridan, 6/8)

The Atlantic: Don't Wait To Get Your Kid Vaccinated
But the case for kids getting their shots as soon as possible is still strong, even two and a half years and billions of infections into SARS-CoV-2’s global sweep. Vaccination will not just protect children during the current surge but also prep them for the fall and winter, when schools resume session and another wave of cases is expected to rise. Since the pandemic began, at least 13 million American children have caught the coronavirus—a definite undercount, given the catastrophic state of testing in the United States. Of them, more than 120,000 have been hospitalized, more than 8,000 have developed a poorly understood inflammatory condition known as MIS-C, and more than 1,500 have died, nearly a third of them younger than 5. And an untold number have developed the debilitating, chronic symptoms of long COVID. “We can’t always pick out the child” who goes on to get the sickest, says Dawn Sokol, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist at Ochsner Health, in New Orleans. Many of the kids who ultimately fall ill are “running around, happy-go-lucky, no risk factors at all.” Vaccination, perhaps especially for the youngest among us, is an investment in the future. (Wu, 6/7)

The New York Times: Covid World Vaccination Tracker
More than 5.17 billion people worldwide have received a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, equal to about 67.4 percent of the world population. This map shows the stark gap between vaccination programs in different countries. (Holder, 6/7)