TN Pharmacies Are Breaking The Law If They Don’t Provide Referrals For Ivermectin, Sources Say

Credible Sources Tell Us That Tennessee Pharmacies Who Will Not Dispense Ivermectin Are Breaking The Law If They Don’t Provide Customers With A Referral To A Pharmacist That Will Dispense The Medication.

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

The Tennessee Conservative has received multiple reports that pharmacies in the state are either not carrying Ivermectin or telling customers that a prescription is required before they will dispense the medication, contrary to the original intent of a bill passed in the last session of the General Assembly.

With multiple reports coming in that Tennessee citizens were being told a prescription for the medication is required by pharmacies or being told that a pharmacy wasn’t carrying it, we began searching for answers as to whether there were loopholes in the law allowing this or if pharmacies were breaking the law.

For our previous report, we reached out to several of the co-sponsors of the legislation, made law with Governor Lee’s signature in March,  that was touted to ensure that Tennesseans, 18 and older, would be provided the medication over-the-counter and without a prescription.  

The overarching response was that it was their belief, upon signing their names to the legislation, that the bill would live up to its claims.

However, new information provided to us proves that the legislation that was signed into law, falls far away from the original intent.

Note: We are not including the names of our sources in order to protect their identities.

A practicing Tennessee doctor and pharmacist offered clarity to the law stating, “While any pharmacist can dispense the ivermectin without a prescription if they have a collaborative care agreement with a physician, they are not required to dispense it.”

“However, they are required to refer the patient to a pharmacist that will dispense the medication similar to the morning after pill legislation,” the pharmacist said. “If they do not refer, they are breaking the law. So, a lot of pharmacists are currently breaking the law.” 

The pharmacist concluded, “Compounded capsules or commercial 3mg tablets can be dispensed depending on agreement.  There is nothing that specifically mentions Covid so it could be dispensed for parasites or skin conditions as well.  A consultation fee is allowed and is not set so it will differ by pharmacy. In fact, there may be big differences in price based on this.  Independent pharmacists  are more likely to provide this service rather than chain pharmacists and therefore a patient would have more luck with an independent pharmacy.”

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A practicing Tennessee medical doctor told us, “The law is worthless as it stands.  This statute was allegedly modeled on Narcan pickups at pharmacies by addicts, so they would be less likely to die in the event of an overdose. The problem here is the concerted, organized, and well orchestrated effort by entrenched and powerful agencies to deep-six the use of this useful drug. It continues here, and the large pharmacy chains are participating in that effort.” 

The doctor continued, “Mexico’s government was pressured by ours in 2021 to stop allowing OTC purchases of Ivermectin. (An interesting use of our agencies to pressure foreign governments). Mexico did a high powered excellent study in late 2020 with tens of thousands of citizens demonstrating 80+% reduction (in randomized people with positive pcr tests) of hospitalizations in the IVM arm.“ 

In conclusion, the doctor stated, “The issue goes to the very heart of the ****storm over the last two+ years, and demonstrates the unbelievable corruption going on under our noses. Most of us, clinicians who are preoccupied with individual patients we are caring for, have ignored all this, for years, or been rationally ignorant. There is really no excuse for any of us, now, to be this way, including you. There are hundreds of thousands of people, probably more, needlessly afflicted because of the current level of widespread corruption. It goes way beyond the use of one anti-parasitic drug.”

Several Tennessee Conservative readers have shared their experiences in their endeavors to acquire the medication since the publication of our previous article.  Below are just a few of the stories.  

Story 1: “My wife tried Kroger, Walgreens, CVS,  etc. All said no, some even if you had a prescription. She ended up calling a compounding pharmacy In Morristown. A few days after a conversation with the pharmacist and a charge to our credit card it came in the mail. There are two choices, one preventative and one if you get covid.  Not as easy as you would expect it should be, but it can be done.”

Story 2: “I’ve called around Knoxville to help out a coworker find some and the answers that I got across the board is they’re waiting on a protocol on how to dispense it. Only a few pharmacies said they would dispense it if I had a prescription but more than likely insurance won’t cover it and I was told it’s very expensive. Welcome to Knoxville, liberal city.”

Story 3:  “I attempted to purchase ivermectin to have on hand due to close exposure to covid. One pharmacy told me they don’t dispense for covid; one said they don’t dispense at all and 2 said I would need a prescription. I finally found an independent pharmacy who would, after a couple of questions to determine dosage, dispense it without any problem. I will use this pharmacy for other things now.”

Story 4:  “I contacted 3 local pharmacies regarding purchasing ivermectin a few months after this legislation was passed. 2 knew nothing about the new legislation. Surprisingly, the one that is a compound pharmacy cited not having a “valid collaborative pharmacy practice agreement” as their reason. My questions were met with hostility, and I was told they would NOT be stocking this medication. The other 2 chain pharmacies said they would look into the new legislation but would be more than happy to fill it, IF they could obtain it.”

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com