Australia orders two new COVID-19 treatments
https://www.smh.com.au/national/aus...rcent-vaccination-target-20211017-p590lp.html
The Commonwealth has agreements for two new COVID-19 treatments, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced.
Australia will receive 15,000 doses of the coronavirus antibody-based therapy Ronapreve from Roche Products.
Early studies have shown the treatment can reduce hospitalisation or death from COVID-19 by 70 per cent once people acquire the virus.
The first supplies are expected to be available by the end of this month in an initial shipment of 5000 doses, and the drug will be targeted at unvaccinated people who are at risk of developing severe COVID-19.
The Commonwealth has also secured an agreement for 500,000 courses of Pfizer’s oral antiviral drug, which is still undergoing clinical trials but is expected to help reduce the severity of illness in people who have contracted COVID-19.
It is expected to prevent the onset of illness in adults who have been exposed to the virus.
Mr Hunt said the treatments were about “saving lives and protecting lives” but were not intended to replace vaccination.
“Vaccination is still our frontline protection,” he said. “If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, everywhere in Australia the opportunity is there to be vaccinated.”
