Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
COVID CURE TO TAKE AT HOME
» Pill to stop disease in tracks » Prevention plan by autumn
PEOPLE could be offered pills to treat Covid at home and stop symptoms developing from the autumn.
Boris Johnson yesterday announced a strategy of rapidly buying millions of drugs as soon as they are proven to tackle the virus. The UK Antivirals Taskforce aims to identify at least two effective treatments this year that the public can take following a positive test or exposure to a carrier.
The PM said he will assemble a team of scientists to find ways for people to recover without going into hospital, so Britain can “learn to live with this disease, as we live with other diseases”. The Government hopes that sourcing preventative drugs could be key to avoiding another devastating wave by the winter. Mr
Johnson told a Downing Street press conference: “This means, for example, if you test positive there might be a tablet you could take at home to stop the virus in its tracks and significantly reduce the chance of infection turning into more severe disease.
“Or if you’re living with someone who has tested positive, there might be a pill you could take for a few days to stop you getting the disease yourself.”
There were 373,423 new vaccinations registered in the UK yesterday.
All adults in the UK will have been offered a vaccine by the autumn but experts do not expect these to give full protection.
Sir Patrick Vallance, Britain’s chief scientific adviser, said: “Antivirals in tablet form are another key tool for the response. They could help protect those not protected by or ineligible for vaccines. They could be another layer of defence in the face of new variants of concern.” Antiviral drugs work by stopping the virus reproducing in the body, rather than treating symptoms.
The UK reported 33 more deaths yesterday and 2,524 new cases. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “The UK is leading the world in finding and rolling out effective treatments for Covid-19.”
The European medicines regulator said it had found a “possible link” between Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine and very rare blood clots. The vaccine is yet to be approved for use in the UK.