The first at-home treatment for COVID 19 could reportedly be given to patients before Christmas in an effort to protect vulnerable people from the Omicron strain.
According to a newspaper outlet, Health Secretary Sajid Javid is set to start a national pilot of the Molnupiravir antiviral pill, also known as Lagevrio.
Molnupiravir, which can be taken at home, is for people who’ve had a positive COVID test and have at least one risk factor for developing severe illness, such as obesity, being over the age of 60, diabetes or heart disease.
Under the plans, the NHS is reportedly expected to deliver courses of the tablet to clinically vulnerable and immunosuppressed patients within as little as 48 hours of them testing positive for COVID.
It’s understood that hospitals and GPs have been told a series of COVID medicines delivery units were being established to ensure the treatment gets to patients as soon as possible, once it’s established they have the virus.
It comes after the UK Health Security Agency said a further 26 cases of the Omicron variant had been recorded across the United Kingdom, with 25 of those in England, meaning the total number of confirmed cases of the variant in Britain now stands at 160.
Last month, the UK became the first country in the world to licence the use of the drug, from Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), in a move described as a game-changer by Sajid Javid, but just over a week ago, England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty warned its use may have to be reconsidered in the light of the emergence of Omicron.
Professor Chris Whitty told a Downing Street press conference that on the antivirals, they were going to have to do a bit of a rethink on the basis of this new variant, just to be sure they’ve got the right indications from it.
He said there’s a variety of ways it could be used in a different way, and what they need to make sure they’ve got the stock of these, what appear to be extremely effective drugs, and that they use it in the most effective way and for the right people.
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had previously said the drug was safe and effective at reducing the risk of hospital admission and mortality in people with mild to moderate COVID who were at additional risk from the virus.
However, this is another drug that’s skipped the usual 5-year clinical testing phases, which all seems rather ominous, and if vulnerable people have not been protected by the jab, then what was the purpose of having the vaccine in the first place? And we all know that pharmaceutical companies aren’t there to make you better because they wouldn’t profit from that, would they now?
It’s certainly making big pharma incredibly rich, but is it really keeping the virus at bay or stopping people from dying?
Pfizer reported that the vaccine brought in $3.5 billion in revenue in the first three months of 2021, almost a quarter of its total revenue, which means it’s been Pfizer’s biggest source of income. Yet two initial jabs didn’t work, now the so-called booster which doesn’t appear to have worked and now a pill, what will they think of next? They’ll be putting it in your food next.
And all those people who had their first two jabs, do they actually think that the booster will work better?
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