Dear Friend, I hope this email finds you well. The question today is still: how do I get my hydroxychloroquine or Plaquenil refilled? We have 2 primary suggestions: - Start your refill process early. Your pharmacy may need to contact other pharmacies to complete your order.
- Don't take no for an answer. Ask the pharmacist to order drugs from another store, find another pharmacy chain that will fill the prescription, find out when the pharmacy gets another shipment in, etc. (see the example below).
Unfortunately there is not one pharmacy we can recommend that has the drug. Here's what we know about the major pharmacies to check: - Costco
- Walgreens is filling refills and individuals with new prescriptions can get only 14 days.
- CVS
- Osco
The feedback I'm getting is that pharmacies are prioritizing refills and turning new prescriptions away. Advocating for yourself is still advised. I heard this from an outstanding volunteer: Wanted to give you an update on getting his prescription filled. CVS is currently only filling hydroxychloroquine to customers who need it. Since he has been on it for years we didn’t have any problem getting his 3 month prescription filled. However it took 3 CVS to find it. The pharmacist said they are really watching this now. Cvs was very helpful on finding it for us too. Advocating for yourself is not easy - but it is effective. I've gotten reports from several individuals in the lupus community who have been able to get their refills. In this time of confusion and fear, we also have examples of heroic behavior. I heard from Kenny, one of our volunteers, who is a part of a F3 in Naperville and sent me this: If you are local and need or know someone who needs assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us at (331-444-2523), signup on our website (f3naperville.com/grocerydelivery) or email at f3naperville@gmail.com to submit a request for assistance. Once we receive your request, we will contact you to coordinate on the specifics. Thanks to Kenny for his service and for sharing this opportunity with the lupus community. If you have any information that may be helpful to others in the lupus community, please send it to me at mary@lupusil.org. Please contact us with your questions and concerns. We are here to give you the most up to date information. Together we'll get through this. Together we make a difference. Mary Dollear, President, Lupus Society of Illinois | 
