Covid Pill Prescriber Rules Limit Reach of ‘Test to Treat’ Plan (1)

President Joe Biden’s plan to launch one-stop shops for Covid-19 tests and treatment pills is raising concerns that some of the hardest hit Americans will remain without access to the therapy.

Biden’s “Test to Treat” initiative, unveiled this week in his State of the Union address, would establish hundreds of locations where patients can immediately receive an authorized antiviral pill from Pfizer Inc. or Merck & Co. if they test positive for the virus.

The pills are only available by prescription, so the test-to-treat centers will be set up at local pharmacy-based clinics, community health centers, and other facilities that ...