Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people at high risk from covid-19 who are eligible to receive antiviral treatment following a positive PCR test result.

Since December 2021, National Health Service patients can access new COVID-19 therapies, including antivirals and monoclonal antibodies which can reduce the risk of becoming hospitalised. 1.3 million of the highest risk patients in the United Kingdom are eligible for antivirals directly. This cohort include patients at highest risk of hospitalisation and deterioration following a COVID-19 infection. Should they receive a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, they will be assessed by clinicians and offered antiviral or antibody treatments from a COVID Medicines Delivery Unit, if eligible.

Over 20 million people are eligible for antivirals through the new PANORAMIC national study run by the University of Oxford. The study is open to individuals living anywhere in the UK who received a positive PCR test, are aged 50 years old and over or are aged 18 to 49 years old with an underlying medical condition that can increase the risk of developing severe COVID-19.