WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — At New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, Pastor Toby Philpart and Dr. Dwight Reynolds have been working on a big project.
"You don't have to die because of COVID," Philpart told WPTV.
With special permission from the state of Florida, they're giving away thousands of doses of Paxlovid, which is used to treat COVID during the first five days of symptoms, every Sunday to those who can't afford the medication.
One dose of Paxlovid typically costs around $1,390 for those without health insurance.
"The major need that we're trying to address are those in neighborhoods typically, people that look like Pastor Toby and myself, that do not have access to it, do not have vehicles to drive to a doctor's office or go to a pharmacist to get the medication," Reynolds said.
It's a message that Dr. Imran Ali, assistant professor of medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, echoes.
"Paxlovid is a breakthrough antiviral treatment for coronavirus," Ali told WPTV.
Ali said research shows the coronavirus is still greatly impacting many vulnerable communities in Florida.
"COVID can particularly be difficult for those who are, you know, not having health insurance, who have not seen a doctor, those who may be in a lower socioeconomic class," Ali said. "From the data, even from different Florida counties from last year, we can see that those who have been hospitalized and have succumbed to COVID fit into these categories."
That's what Philpart and Reynolds are hoping to help fight, by making life-saving drugs, like Paxlovid, more accessible.
"One in three people that get COVID happen to be African American," Reynolds said. "They will have severe disease, hospitalizations, intensive care unit and perhaps, death. So, there's been such an outcry."
The giveaway is taking place every Sunday at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in West Palm Beach starting at 8:45 a.m. The church will host these events while supplies last.
Reynolds said each box of Paxlovid has a special label on it, directing people to call doctors at the Centers for Health Promotion before they take their first dose.
Each person must also provide all of their information to the doctors at the event before going home with the medication.