Lifesaving Covid Treatments Face Rationing as Virus Surges Again

Scarce supplies and surging Covid cases have caused health officials, hospitals, doctors and patients to scramble for pills and infusions.

At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, scarce ventilators and protective equipment faced strict rationing. Today, as the pandemic rages into its third year, another precious category of products is coming under tight controls: treatments to stave off severe Covid-19.

There is a greater menu of Covid pills and infusions now than at any point in the pandemic. The problem is that the supplies of those that work against the Omicron variant are extremely limited.

That has forced state health officials and doctors nationwide into the fraught position of deciding which patients get potentially lifesaving treatments and which don’t. Some people at high risk of severe Covid are being turned away because they are vaccinated.