Texans may now access ivermectin from their local pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription after a law passed earlier this year by the legislature took effect on December 4.
“Ivermectin is officially available without a prescription in Texas, and pharmacists are fully allowed to dispense!” Houston’s Dr. Mary Talley Bowden celebrated on X.
The new law, passed as House Bill 25, also protects pharmacists from criminal, civil, or professional disciplinary liability for responsibly dispensing ivermectin.
Although the law states that pharmacists “may” dispense ivermectin without a prescription, it does not state that they “shall” do so. Some pharmacies may choose not to.
The law also authorized the Texas State Board of Pharmacy to set rules for dispensing ivermectin.
State Rep. Joanne Shofner (R–Nacogdoches) authored the legislation during the second special session this year. The measure was made a priority by both the governor and Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows after having died on the House calendar during the regular session.
Shofner wrote on X that this law gives families more control and removes barriers to treatment options that should not have been denied.
“For years, access to ivermectin became restricted, even as countless doctors and experts continued to speak to its benefits,” said Shofner. “Those limitations left too many Texans without choices when they needed them most — especially in rural communities.”
“Today, that ends,” Shofner added.
Pharmacists are now able to immediately offer ivermectin, since the Texas State Board of Pharmacy did not propose any rules for dispensing the drug. If the board had proposed rules, it would have delayed the law from taking effect for at least 30 days to allow for public comment.
Texans for Vaccine Choice has begun collecting the names of pharmacies willing to dispense ivermectin without a prescription. The form can be found here.
Currently, the only states that have passed similar legislation are Louisiana, Arkansas, Idaho, and Tennessee. Although ivermectin has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID-19, the drug became quite popular during the pandemic.
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