Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the success rate of people at high risk from covid-19 being able to access antiviral treatment within five days of a positive PCR test result.
Sufficient data is not yet available on the average treatment time from the point of a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. However, the United Kingdom-wide clinical access policy for monoclonal antibody and antiviral treatments for patients at highest risk confirms that treatment should be provided within five days of a positive PCR test and within five days of symptom onset. This is in line with the medicines’ market authorisations. The PANORAMIC national study protocol also specifies that antivirals must be administered within five days of a positive PCR result for patients randomised for treatment within the study.