Treatments for coronavirus (COVID-19)
Getting your coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself from the virus. However, there are treatments available for those with coronavirus who are thought to be at greater risk of being admitted to hospital and possible serious COVID-19 illness or death.
Groups of people at higher risk
The Health and Social Care (HSC) Service is offering antiviral and antibody treatments to people with COVID-19, who are at higher risk of becoming seriously ill.
The types of COVID-19 treatment available are:
- antivirals:
- neutralising monoclonal antibodies (nMAB):
- Sotrovimab a biological medicine
These treatments can help some people manage their COVID-19 symptoms and reduce the risk of becoming seriously ill.
They are available across all five Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts in Northern Ireland.
Who can have COVID-19 treatments
The treatments available are for people who have symptoms and have tested positive, using a lateral flow test for COVID-19 and are at higher risk of getting seriously ill.
This includes all people who:
- are aged 85 years and over
- have end-stage heart failure and have a long-term ventricular assistance device implant
- are resident in a care home and aged 70 years and over, or have a BMI of 35 kg/m² or more, or diabetes or heart failure
- are on an organ transplant waiting list
- are living with an organ transplant
This also includes some people with the following conditions:
- Down's syndrome, or another chromosomal disorder that affects your immune system
- certain types of cancer, or have received treatment for certain types of cancer, such as:
- lung cancer at any stage
- cancers which have spread elsewhere in the body (metastatic) or are locally advanced but inoperable
- had a cancer removed within the last three to twelve months and have not had chemotherapy or radiotherapy
- other cancers needing chemotherapy or radiotherapy within the last year, including blood cancers
- certain conditions affecting your blood, such as bone marrow transplant in the last year, sickle cell disease, myeloma, AL amyloidosis or thalassaemia
- chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 4 or 5, including people on dialysis
- severe liver disease
- certain autoimmune or inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease when you have:
- been treated with steroids for at least the 28 days before you tested positive for COVID-19
- active disease, needing a recent increase in dose or starting treatment with a new immunosuppressive drug or steroid injection or course of oral steroids within the three months before you tested positive for COVID-19
- need to take other drugs such as biologics, methotrexate or azathioprine
- HIV or AIDS and have a weakened immune system
- complex immune deficiencies
- certain lung conditions or treatment for lung conditions, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or asthma or COPD needing high doses of steroids, on long-term oxygen, or receiving ventilation (NIV or tracheostomy)
- certain conditions affecting the brain or nerves, such as:
- multiple sclerosis
- muscular dystrophy
- motor neurone disease
- myasthenia gravis
- Huntington's disease, Parkinson’s disease and certain types of dementia, when associated with severe frailty
This list is a summary and does not cover everything.
If you're unsure, a full list of eligible groups is detailed at:
A doctor or specialist will confirm if you are eligible for treatment.
The NICE COVID-19 treatment guidelines are available at:
- NICE technology appraisal guidance for treating COVID-19
- COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing COVID-19
How to get a COVID-19 treatment
If you're eligible for a COVID-19 treatment, you should stay alert to the symptoms of COVID-19 and get rapid lateral flow tests to keep at home in case you develop symptoms.
If you’re eligible, you may be able to pick up free rapid lateral flow test kits from your local pharmacy.
If you develop any symptoms of COVID-19, even if your symptoms are mild, you should test as soon as possible with a lateral flow test.
If your test is positive, you should report it and include your postcode and a phone number, to be assessed for a COVID-19 treatment.
These additional treatments need to be given quickly after you get a positive lateral flow test result to be most effective.
Information on where to get free lateral flow tests and how to report the positive result is available at:
If your test result is negative, but you still have symptoms of COVID-19, you need to do a total of three rapid lateral flow tests over three days.
For example, if you did your first test today, you should do a second test tomorrow and a third test the day after.
If any of your lateral flow tests are positive and you have reported the result and you have provided an email address, you will receive an email confirming your test result has been registered.
If there is information in the HSC central record systems showing that you may have a condition or are taking a medicine that might make you eligible for a COVID-19 treatment, you may receive a further text message, advising that the HSC Trust will be told and that medical staff will review information in your medical records.
If you test positive for COVID-19 and you do not receive a text message about treatment but feel you may be eligible, you can contact your GP practice to discuss this. Your GP practice can contact the Trust on your behalf.
If the HSC Trust identifies you as suitable for treatment, they will be in contact to discuss this further. This call may be from an unknown or withheld number.
If you have received a text message about treatment, but do not receive a follow-up call from the HSC trust within a couple of days and feel you may be eligible, you can contact your GP practice to discuss this.
Your GP practice can contact the trust on your behalf.
It is important that you carefully review the information on eligibility before making contact with your GP practice.
If you have no symptoms and have not tested positive for COVID-19 using a lateral flow test, you are not eligible for these treatments.
HSC treatments for COVID-19 are free of charge and you will never be asked for your bank account or card details or asked to pay for treatment.
Which treatment you will have
The HSC Trust will advise which treatment, if any, is suitable for you once you have been reviewed by a doctor.
Treatment will be on the advice of a clinician and could be either:
- Antiviral Paxlovid (may be known as nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir)
- nMAB treatment Sotrovimab
- Antiviral Remdesivir (Veklury)
- Antiviral molnupiravir (Lagevrio)
If you are given the antiviral treatment Paxlovid or molnupiravir, it comes as either tablets or capsules you swallow.
These can be taken at home and the HSC Trust will advise how this medication will be made available to you.
The nMABs treatment Sotrovimab, or the antiviral treatment remdesivir are given to you through a drip in your arm (infusion) and will be given at a hospital, other healthcare site, or in your home.
Once you have been reviewed by a doctor, you will receive instructions on where and a suitable time to get the treatment and if needed, advice on how to safely get to the hospital as you are COVID-19 positive.
Pregnancy
If you find out that you're pregnant, or became pregnant while taking Paxlovid, Remdesivir or Molnupiravir, or shortly after, report this by phoning the UK COVID-19 Antivirals in Pregnancy Registry on 0344 892 0909.
Also speak to your healthcare professional.
More information is available at this link:
Questions about treatment
If you test positive for COVID-19 and have a question about treatments, you can contact your GP practice to discuss this.
GPs and out of hours GPs can advise you on eligibility for treatment and can refer eligible patients directly for telephone assessment by the HSC Trust.
It's important that you carefully review the information on eligibility before contacting your GP practice.
Accessing treatment elsewhere in the UK and Ireland
If you're away from home and travelling elsewhere in the UK and need to access COVID-19 treatments, find out how to below.
England
In England, contact the nearest GP, or Out of Hours GP service via NHS 111 to allow you to access treatment within the recommended time.
Wales
In Wales, contact the nearest GP, or Out of Hours GP service via NHS 111 to allow you to access treatment within the recommended time.
Further information is available at:
Scotland
If you are visiting Scotland and need access to COVID-19 treatments, you should contact the nearest Health Board to be assessed for your eligibility to access treatment.
The Health Board single point of contact details are available on the NHS Inform website.
If you need access to COVID-19 treatment out of hours, in the first instance, you should still use the Health Board single point of contact phone numbers on the NHS Inform website.
If you reach an answering machine, you will be asked to leave a message. If so, you will receive a call back from the relevant Health Board.
Health Board contact numbers are not for use if you're seeking urgent medical advice or have a general health query.
You should seek the advice of a GP if:
- your symptoms worsen
- you're concerned about your symptoms
- you have symptoms that you can no longer manage at home
- you're worried about your child, especially if they're under two years of age
If this happens when a GP practice is closed, phone 111. In an emergency, phone 999.
Republic of Ireland
If you are travelling to the Republic of Ireland, you can access treatment by contacting the nearest GP, who can prescribe treatment for you in the same way to that available for their own patients.
PANORAMIC clinical trial
Antiviral medicines are also being studied through a national trial called PANORAMIC, which is run by the University of Oxford.
Recruitment for the antiviral Molnupiravir arm of the study has closed.
An additional antiviral, Paxlovid, is now being investigated in the study.
Recruitment to the Paxlovid arm was open to members of the public in Northern Ireland. However, due to staffing limitations and safety implications for participant follow-up, recruitment of Northern Ireland participants has been paused until further notice.
Find out more about the University of Oxford COVID-19 antiviral trial at: