Makanont: Coronavirus NYC: City to offer free, at-home delivery of antiviral pills

NEW YORK (WABC) -- On Sunday, Mayor Eric Adams was back to focusing on the pandemic, which in the last couple of weeks, cases were improving significantly.

Adams says it helps that 75 percent of New Yorkers are now vaccinated, and access to testing is now better than ever. People can get vaccinated at home, test at home - and now, if they are COVID positive, as long as they have a prescribing doctor in the city, they can get medication delivered at home.

"The city will also offer at-home delivery of COVID antiviral pills and to eligible New Yorkers who need them, and we're going to do it with the magic New York word - we're going to do it for free. For free," Adams said, "delivering the anti-viral pills to you at home if you're an eligible New Yorker and is for free."

The city is already providing vaccines for free at home for those who request them. Delivery of the medications will work the same way -- so that no one who is sick has to go out and risk exposing others to get treatment.

"Oral antiviral pills...for five days helps stop the virus from reproducing, which reduces the amount of virus in the body, and prevents symptoms from getting worse," said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi.

Questions remain about how much longer we can declare victory over the omicron surge, and whether it will change mandates. There are no indications of any changes yet, in fact, Mayor Adams thanked his predecessor for putting the existing mandates in place.