Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility criteria for Paxlovid to include people who are full-time carers to mitigate the risk of long covid.

The Department has made no such assessment, as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that makes recommendations on whether medicines can be recommended for routine use on the National Health Service. NICE’s recommendations are based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and developed through a rigorous process that includes extensive engagement with stakeholders.

NICE published guidance in March 2023 that recommends Paxlovid for patients at highest risk of developing serious illness from COVID-19. Paxlovid is now routinely available to NHS patients in line with NICE’s guidance. NICE issued final draft guidance on 11 January 2024 that expands its recommendation of Paxlovid to include other higher risk groups, including people aged 70 years and over, or with a body mass index of 35 or more, diabetes, or heart failure.