COVID-19 Outpatient Treatments

Coronavirus Outpatient Treatments

There are several therapies meant to prevent COVID-19 patients with high-risk medical conditions from becoming hospitalized, as follows:

Paxlovid: Paxlovid is a FDA-approved oral treatment for mild-to-moderate COVID-19. Patients with COVID-19 who have had symptoms for 5 days or fewer and are at high-risk for disease progression should consider Paxlovid under a doctor's supervision. A close evaluation of drug interactions should be reviewed prior to taking Paxlovid.

Remdesivir: If we cannot offer Paxlovid due to potential drug interactions, a process is in place to offer high-risk patients who meet the below criteria a three-day course of remdesivir via IV through our outpatient treatment program. Three days of IV remdesivir has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization by 87% and is similar in efficacy to Paxlovid. While Paxlovid is easier to administer, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) lists three days of remdesivir as an option for patients at risk of COVID-19 disease progression. 

Monoclonal antibody therapies: As of Nov. 21, 2022, UCLA Health no longer uses bebtelovimab to treat COVID-19, as the currently circulating strains of the omicron variant are resistant to this monoclonal antibody therapy.

Molnupiravir: High-risk patients with COVID-19 who are ineligible for Paxlovid and don't meet the high-risk criteria for remdesivir may be given an anti-viral pill called molnupiravir (Lagevrio) to prevent hospitalization.

Watch video: outpatient COVID-19 therapies

Cost information for COVID outpatient treatments: COVID-19 medications are currently being provided to patients at no cost. While we are billing insurers for the administration of remdesivir, there should be no cost share for patients.

Want more information? Please reach out to your primary care physician if you have questions about outpatient COVID-19 therapies. Please see the COVID-19 vaccine info hub for information about the available vaccines.

High-risk criteria for remdesivir:

Patients with the following high-risk conditions who are otherwise ineligible for Paxlovid due to drug interactions or a creatine clearance of <30 may be eligible to receive remdesivir through our outpatient treatment program.

  • Patients who are within one year of receiving B-cell depleting therapies (e.g., rituximab, ocrelizumab, ofatumumab, alemtuzumab)
  • Patients receiving Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors (e.g. ibrutinib, acalabrutinib, zanubrutinib)
  • Chimeric antigen receptor T cell recipients (CAR-T)
  • Post-hematopoietic cell transplant recipients who have chronic graft versus host disease or who are taking immunosuppressive medications for another indication
  • Patients with hematologic malignancies who are on active chemotherapy
  • Any solid organ transplant recipient
  • Patients with severe combined immunodeficiencies
  • Patients with untreated HIV who have a CD4 T lymphocyte cell count <200 cells/mm3
  • Patients in active cancer treatment for non-hematologic malignancies (e.g. myelosuppressive chemotherapy)
  • Post-hematopoietic cell transplant recipients who received treatment within two years without GVHD / not taking immunosuppressive medications for another indication
  • Patients actively being treated with high-dose corticosteroids of more than 20 mg daily for at least two weeks, or actively taking other drugs (within one month) that may suppress their immune response
  • Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension on phosphodiesterase inhibitors and on chronic oxygen
  • Patients who are unvaccinated who have traditional high-risk co-morbid conditions such as obesity or heart, kidney or lung disease

Monoclonal antibody therapy for pre-exposure prophylaxis

As of Nov. 21, 2022, UCLA Health will no longer accept new referrals for AstraZeneca's Evusheld (tixagevimab/cilgavimab), the FDA authorized monoclonal antibody for pre-exposure prevention of COVID-19, as the currently circulating omicron subvariants are resistant to this therapy. 

Please contact your primary care physician if you have any questions.