Covid antivirals going to waste as patients struggle to access drugs
COVID-19 “wonder pills” are going to waste as just 0.6 per cent of the UK’S supply has been used, it has emerged.
There are more than five million courses of antivirals available, but just 32,000 have been prescribed, analysis by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) found.
The drugs have a shelf life of a year, the TBI said, as it expressed concern the drugs could expire before they are used.
Clinically vulnerable people who are eligible for the drugs have reported being denied access to them. About 1.3million people in England have underlying health conditions, entitling them to antivirals if they test positive.
Analysis in the British Medical Journal suggests that the UK has spent £2.2billion procuring the drugs.
Patients must prove they are positive using an NHS authorised test, ruling out private tests which can be purchased in stores and chemists.
By the time the individual accesses an NHS test, it would “significantly reduce” the effectiveness of the drugs due to the delay, the report said.
The TBI is calling for GPS to be allowed to prescribe the drugs to all over-60s and the unvaccinated.
About 2.75million courses of the UK’S antiviral supply are Paxlovid, made by Pfizer and described as a “wonder drug”. It has been found to reduce hospital admissions by 85 per cent.
Molnupiravir and remdesivir are also available via the NHS for clinically vulnerable patients.
Adam Bradshaw, the senior Covid-19 adviser at the TBI, said: “No one should be struggling to access Covid-19 antiviral drugs when there are plenty in stock and Covid-19 deaths are at their highest point since January 2021.
“Those eligible for antiviral medication should also be able to use the tests from pharmacies and supermarkets to get a prescription. These are common sense quick wins in the ongoing battle to manage the Covid-19 pandemic.”
He added that the Government was “lagging behind” the rest of the world in its Covid response by not extending eligibility for the drugs. Ilona Roberts, from Plymouth, is immunocompromised and tested positive for Covid earlier this month after a return to the office.
She reported her positive NHS test and received an email explaining that she would be contacted by a GP to discuss if she was eligible for antivirals.
But after three days she still had no response and was forced to contact her hospital consultant who arranged her treatment directly. “I knew I had a limited time window to access the drugs for them to be effective, the system was so frustrating and inefficient,” she said. A spokesman for Blood Cancer UK said patients are spending their days “trying to track down” the treatment, and “in some cases, we know of people who did not get the treatment in time”.
A Department of Health spokesman said it had secured “more life-saving antivirals per head than any other country in Europe for NHS patients”.
He added: “Those at highest risk from Covid can access antivirals directly and should call NHS 111 or their GP if they haven’t been contacted by the NHS.”