Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of NHS patients with covid-19.

The Government will manage the virus in line with other respiratory illnesses, while aiming to protect those most vulnerable through vaccination and targeted testing. Currently 85.6% of the population aged 12 years old and over has received two doses of vaccine and 67% have received a booster vaccination. On 21 February 2022, the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on offering a further dose to some individuals as part of the spring COVID-19 vaccination programme. The primary aim of the programme is to reduce the risk of severe disease among those deemed most at-risk. A further dose will be offered to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults and individuals aged 12 years old and over who are immunosuppressed.

The Government has also secured a total of 4.98 million courses of oral antiviral treatments. This includes 2.75 million courses of nirmatrelvir + ritonavir (Paxlovid) from Pfizer and 2.23 million patient courses of molnupiravir from Merck Sharp and Dohme. Those whose immune system means they are at higher risk from COVID-19 and who test positive for the virus, can directly access treatments, through new COVID Medicine Delivery Units. These patients will receive either the novel monoclonal antibody sotrovimab or nirmatrelvir + ritonavir. If patients are not able to receive these treatments, they will be offered Remdesivir and then molnupiravir.

In addition, oral antiviral treatments are available through the PANORAMIC national study, run by the University of Oxford. This study is open to clinically eligible individuals in the United Kingdom who test positive for the virus.