The first over-the-counter birth control pill, sold without an age restriction, will be available from at least one Vancouver pharmacy next month.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Opill last summer. The contraceptive is manufactured by the Ireland-based company Perrigo. Previously, birth control pills required a doctor’s prescription. Perrigo said Opill should be available to purchase at retail pharmacies and online by the end of March.
Opill will be available at the Vancouver Rite Aid, 2800 N.E. 162nd Ave., sometime in April, a pharmacist there said.
Two local Walgreens pharmacies in downtown and central Vancouver and a Fred Meyer pharmacy on Columbia House Boulevard said they do not have a date for when Opill will be available at their stores.
Matt Blanchette, a spokesperson for the CVS pharmacy chain’s Western region, said more than 7,500 CVS pharmacies and stores will offer Opill starting in early April. But it was unclear when it would be available in Clark County. For added privacy and convenience, customers will be able to choose same-day delivery or buy online and pick up in the store, he said.
The pills will be sold in one-month packs for $19.99 and three-month packs for $49.99, according to Perrigo. In Washington, the Sexual and Reproductive Health Program contracts with nonprofit organizations and county health departments to provide sexual and reproductive health care services, including birth control, on a sliding fee scale.
Opill is a progestin-only birth control, which differs from many other birth control pills on the market that contain a combination of progestin and estrogen. It must be taken daily within a three-hour window for it to be most effective. It takes two days for the product to start working again if a pill is missed. The pill works by thickening a woman’s cervical mucus, which blocks sperm from getting to an egg. It may also prevent ovulation, but that varies.
