Upload results to ensure access to drugs, says GP
Patients could miss out on important medicines
Covid-19 patients who don’t upload their rapid antigen test (RAT) results could risk missing out on antiviral treatments, a Nelson GP is warning.
In July, the Ministry of Health broadened the scope for people to access the antiviral medication that can help to treat Covid-19, with the change taking effect from July 18.
However, Nelson GPs spokesman Dr Graham Loveridge said people who failed to upload their positive RAT results could be missing out, because their GP would be unaware that they were sick.
When results were uploaded, the practice would be alerted, and a GP would know if the patient met the criteria and would be able to contact the patient and offer the medication, he said.
‘‘Their practice won’t know unless they upload their RAT test results.’’
The criteria for accessing antiviral medication originally focused on immunocompromised people who had tested positive for Covid, had existing health conditions, and were Māori or Pasifika.
But the criteria were widened this month to include people aged over 75, people who have previously been in ICU with Covid, and wider access for Māori and Pasifika people. It takes the number of people eligible from 2% of the population to 10%.
Loveridge said that since the broader criteria came into effect, there had been an upswing in people getting the medications, ‘‘because there’s a whole lot more people eligible for it’’.
But there were still likely to be people missing out, he said. Uploading positive tests to the Covid-19 website would alert GPs to the infection.
‘‘The critical thing is for GPs to know that someone’s got the Covid infection, because you need to [take the medication] within the first five days.’’
Getting the medication in that time was essential, as this was when the virus was ‘‘multiplying furiously’’, Loveridge said.
When the updated criteria were announced, Covid Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said authorities hadn’t seen antiviral use increasing as they had wanted it to, despite the medicines being proven to reduce hospitalisation.
One drug, Paxlovid, reduced the chance of an at-risk person being hospitalised by 90%, she said.
The move comes as the country is seeing another upsurge in Covid cases during the Omicron outbreak, with more cases also being reported among the older community, which is more at risk.
Loveridge said it was also vital that people kept wearing masks, as it was one of the greatest protections against the virus. It was particularly important as the number of reinfections in the community was rising.
‘‘The critical thing is for GPs to know that someone’s got the Covid infection.’’
Dr Graham Loveridge