‘Oku taupotu ‘i lalo ha fakamatala faka-Tonga
Free COVID-19 antiviral medicines are available to treat eligible people with COVID-19.
The drugs are meant to be taken within five days of symptoms starting. It is estimated that up to one million people may be eligible for treatment.
Research by the Public Health Agency, found Pasifika and MÄori, those with underlying health conditions and older Kiwis were among those who have a much higher risk of dying from the virus.
The Ministry of Health said that if taken early in COVID-19 illness, the drugs had proven to reduce hospitalisation and death.
People with a high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 may be eligible for treatment with COVID-19 antiviral medicines.
Eligible people must start taking COVID-19 medicines within the first five days of getting COVID-19 symptoms.
The three anti-virals available are Nirmatrelvir with ritonavir (branded as Paxlovid), Molnupiravir (branded as Lagevrio) and Rremdesivir, an infusion treatment (branded as Veklury).
Paxlovid is produced by Pfizer. A report in the New Zealand Herald claimed it had been found to reduce the risk of hospital admission or dying from the virus by up to 86 per cent.
Side effects included an impaired sense of taste, diarrhoea, increased blood pressure and muscle aches. These effects were said to be mild.
“While vaccination remains the most effective way to help prevent Covid-19, antiviral treatments provide a strong second line of defence for those most at risk,” Pfizer’s New Zealand medical director, Krishan Thiru said.
To be eligible for COVID-19 antiviral medicines, people must have symptoms and have tested positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms and be a household contact of a person with COVID-19
To be eligible, people must also be aged over 65 years, be over 50 years old if they are of Pacific or Maori descent, be over 50 and not have completed a primary course of COVID-19 vaccinations, have a severely weakened immune system, have Downs syndrome or have sickle cell disease.
People may also be eligible if they have any combination of three high risk medical conditions. These include cancer, chronic lung or airways disease, serious heart conditions such as congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, diabetes or chronic kidney disease, or if they have previously been admitted to critical care or high dependency care as a result of COVID-19 and have tested positive again.
If eligible, people may be able to get a prescription from their usual healthcare provider, or the medicine may be supplied without a prescription from some pharmacies.
If people are at risk of severe illness from COVID-19, they may be able to get a prescription for an antiviral medicine from their usual general practice before they get sick. This means the pharmacy will have the prescription ready to use if they become unwell. If people test positive and develop symptoms, they can then arrange to have the medicine delivered by friends or family. Some pharmacies will deliver.
The Ministry of Health has warned that the medicines may not be suitable for everyone, even if they met eligibility criteria.
New cases
Last week the Ministry of Health announced 11,205 new community cases of Covid-19 in the country in the past week, up from under 10,000 new cases the prior weeks.
New Zealand has also recorded its first case of the new Omicron subvariant BQ.1.1
The BQ.1.1 variant is already causing cases to surge in Europe.
You can find more detailed information here about the anti-viral treatment on the Ministry of Health website
FAKAMATALA FAKATONGA
āOku lava ke maāu āa e foāiāakau āenitivailolo ki he Koviti ki he kakai āoku nau puke he vailasi.
Ko e foāiāakau ko eni ke folo ia āi loto āi he āaho nima āo āene kamata āasiā. āOku fakafuofua āe aāu ki he taha miliona e kakai āe lava ken au faitoāo heniā.
Mei lahi foki e kakai Pasifiki mo Mauli āoku āi ai honau ngaahi mahaki tauhi kau ki heni mo e kau Kiwi matuāotuāa angeā pea āe lava ke lahi ange faingamalie ken au mate mei he Kovitiā.
Fakatatau ki he Potungaue Moāui kuo āosi fakamoāoniāi āa e tokoni āa e faitoāo kona fakangofua (drugs) ke ne fakasiāisiāi āa e tokoto fale mahaki mo e mateā.
The three anti-virals available are Nirmatrelvir with ritonavir (branded as Paxlovid), Molnupiravir (branded as Lagevrio) and Rremdesivir, an infusion treatment (branded as Veklury).
Ko e Paxlovid āoku faāu ia āe he Faisa. Naāe pehe āe ha lipooti āa e New Zealand Herald naāe faāu āeni ke ne fakasiāisiāi āa e fakatuāutÄmaki āe ala fakatokoto ai āi fale mahaki pe mate āi he vailasi āe ala aāu ki he pÄseti āe 86.
Ko e tafaāaki kovi āo e faitoāoā ni āe kau ai āa e ongoāi mamatea, fakalele, lahi ange āa e toto mÄāolunga mo e langa āa e uouaā. Ko e ngaahi ola āeni kuo taku āo pehÄ āoku tÅ lotoloto pe.
Lolotonga āa e hoko āa e huhu maluāi ko e toāomotafi taha ia ke ne maluāi āa e Koviti 19, āoku fakaai āe he antivirual ha ngaahi faitoāo maluāi hono ua kia kinautolu āoku tuāu he tuāunga fakatuāutanaki.
Kuopau ke maāu āe he kakai āa e fakaāilonga āo e Koviti pe tesi positive he Koviti pe āi ai ha taha honau faleā ne maāu āe he Kovitiā kae lava ke toki maāu haāane foāiāakau āenitivailolo.
āE lava ke maāu foki āe he kakai āa e āenitÄ«vailolo ko āeniā kapau kuo maāu āa e mahaki tauhi hangÄ ko e kanisÄ, mahakiāia āa e maāamaāa pe halanga mÄnavaā, mafu hangÄ ko e mahaki ki he halanga toto mo e lumetiki, konisenitolo, suka pe mahakiāia āa e kofuuaā, ne āosi āave kinautolu ki ha tokangaeikinaāanga mahaki tuunga āi hano tesi positive kinautolu āi he Kovitiā.
āE lava ke maāu āa e pelesikulipisini ko āeni mei he toketÄ fakafamiliā pe āe lava pe maāu āikai ha pelesikulipisini.
