UK Government announce that supplies of Molnupiravir and Ritonavir against Covid 19 have been secured.

[Jm954]

Thousands of vulnerable patients could be taking ground-breaking COVID-19 antivirals this winter after the government announced deals to secure 2 new treatments.

These treatments should speed up recovery time for COVID-19 patients and the most vulnerable will be eligible first, including the elderly and those with weakened immune systems

The deals made by the Antivirals Taskforce are a significant step in its ambition to secure at least 2 new effective treatments by the end of the year for those who have either tested positive for COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone with the virus.

Should the treatments be approved by the UK’s renowned medicines regulator – the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) – thousands of NHS patients will be able to access the treatments to prevent the infection from spreading and speed up recovery time.

The 2 new antivirals are expected to be given to those most at risk from the virus, helping reduce the severity of symptoms and ease pressure on the NHS over winter.Before the antivirals can be authorised, they will first need to be evaluated by the MHRA, to ensure they meet the regulator’s high standards of quality, safety and effectiveness.

Antivirals are treatments used to either treat those who are infected with a virus or protect exposed individuals from becoming infected. They target the virus at an early stage, preventing progression to more severe, or even critical, symptoms.

More here: gov.uk/government/news/uk-g...

Jackie

[Peggy4]

Well this is good news indeed! Thank you.Peggy

[mrsjsmith]

Thank you Jackie,

Hopefully I will never need to know how to pronounce any of these, but the more defences we can get the less worried I will be.

Regards

Colette x

[Newdawn Administrator]

With 52,009 new infections, 115 deaths and 959 hospital admissions today in the U.K. this has to be great news! 😳

Newdawn

[Psmithuk]

Good - hope I never need them but it’s good to know they will be available.Thanks

Chrisx

[Poodle2]

That sounds like good news but I just hope people will be able to get them before being admitted to a hospital and scared for their life.

[Palmetto]

Funny I was told about ritonavir last year early into covid and I bought it from India but heard then (July 2020) that it did no good. Are there new studies.

[Ernest2]

Many thanks Jackie for that good news.

So one is an experimental flu drug, the other from AIDS/HIV, now being tried out in the COVID-19 setting?

Best wishes,

Ernest

[Mtk1]

After the debacle of the 3rd vaccine I won’t be holding my breath about getting this to the vulnerable by our government I’m afraid.

[hopefulbunny in reply to Mtk1]

I'm afraid I feel the same, seems to be lack of communication between government and GPs. I asked my GP about the Shingrix vaccine the other day and she was completed flummoxed. Said she thought it would probably have to be a special recommendation from my haematologist, but would look into it. Still waiting to hear 😕.

[Mtk1 in reply to hopefulbunny]

Yes I got same reply from Gp, but got my haematologist to write to Gp with request, and they ordered it in and I received mine on Monday, nurse said that she only received 4 doses so said she was keeping 1 for my 2nd dose in 8 weeks. Dave

[Jacksc06]

Thanks for the info Jackie.

[bennevisplace]

Thanks for posting.

According to Reuters the deal is for 480,000 courses of molnupiravir and 250,000 of the Pfizer combination.

[AnneHill in reply to bennevisplace]

I couldnt get any information from my consultant about the treatment I would receive if I caught covid. He said A&E would sort out treatment at the time. It doesnt give me any comfort. Got my 3rd jab. Trouble is half of the town were queuing. I hope masks were protecting us all. Anne uk

[bennevisplace in reply to AnneHill]

I'm a little apprehensive about the actual treatment one would receive as a Covid case. Would the fact of background immunosuppression trigger a more urgent response, with Ronapreve an option? Or would one get standard treatment using whatever drugs the hospital happened to have in stock? Would antivirals/ antibodies be administered early enough to be effective? Or would understaffing and a box-ticking approach dictate the schedule?

[AnneHill in reply to bennevisplace]

Thats what I am worried about. I will ring the oncology helpline and hope I dont get fobbed off. I hate the thought of going to A&E. Before covid it was hours before you could be seen. My friend had pneumonia and was laid across 3 chairs. Others in the waiting room thought she had died and were panicking. The hospital had no beds and in the end her husband took the medication and cared for her at home. She was ill for weeks and tests showed sepsis. She was70 and very fit.

I have no idea how they are dealing with covid patients.

Just as I was considering swimming again, the numbers have gone up. My grandsons have got it from scool. The 11 year old has had an awful week. My husband bought him a nose clip because his taste and smell are terrible and food smells awful. He has eaten some bread and butter with the nose clip on this morning.

Its just like a horrible bug for healthy people, esp if vaccinated and Im sure the government are trying for herd immunity.

We need to wait. We need preventative drugs to take at home. We think things are moving on and I hope we get these treatments. Anne uk

[bennevisplace in reply to AnneHill]

Sorry to hear that Anne. My grandchildren have been OK so far. It's likely they and their parents each got it 18+ months ago, but of course Delta can still strike. Two weeks ago we actually had the two girls stay overnight, and last week my wife was at business meetings in London. These were exposures I couldn't easily avoid, it was a matter of risk management. That's going to become more difficult if case rates continue to rise because too many people can't be bothered any more. So yes, we should each have our contingency plan in case we catch the virus.

[mrsjsmith in reply to bennevisplace]

That sadly is a very open ended question.I asked my CNS last week how quickly I could get Ronapreve if I caught Covid. Concerned she hadn’t heard of it, but the pharmacist who was on the same call had but said the hospital didn’t have any as yet, and this is a large London teaching hospital. My take on this is just to stay in my semi hibernating status and wear FFP3 when ever inside with more than 1 person.

We need to be extra vigilant this winter I am afraid.

Colette

[bennevisplace in reply to mrsjsmith]

I have to agree 😕