One-on-one with Dr. Jha on first COVID test-to-treat site in nation opening in Rhode Island

It's a 'one stop shop' for residents to get oral antiviral medicine to help treat COVID.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The nation’s first federally funded coronavirus test-to-treat site has opened up — and it’s right here in Rhode Island.

It’s a “one stop shop” for eligible Rhode Islanders to get tested for COVID, and then get an antiviral oral medication, called paxlovid, to be treated for the virus.

And in Dr. Ashish Jha’s words, “The government is picking up the tab on it.” ABC 6’s Olivia DaRocha asked Jha about how much each site will cost but he was unsure.

Thursday, Gov. Dan McKee, along with Jha, held a press conference on this new site, that opened on Wednesday.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, paxlovid reduces the risk of hospitalization and death for patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who are at risk of disease and severe illness.

Jha who recently left a position at Brown University’s School of Public Health to lead the nation’s COVID response.

Jha said this program was able to come to Rhode Island first because McKee jumped on this opportunity and joked it had nothing to do with his past in the Ocean State.

More federally supported sites are set to open in the coming weeks in Massachusetts and New York City, both hit by a marked rise in infections.

There’s no word yet on where that site will be in Massachusetts.

Jha said these sites will be open for “as long as they’re needed.”

For more information on who the CDC categorizes as more at risk please click here.