The government has announced that people with MS in the UK will be eligible for one of two new treatments if they catch COVID-19. Currently, treatments are only available for people already in hospital.
This is taken from the MS Society website:
We have several vaccines doing an incredible job protecting people from COVID-19. But we can’t rely on vaccines alone because they’re not 100% effective. We also need treatments to stop people getting seriously ill if they catch COVID-19.
What are the new COVID-19 treatments?
Two treatments will be available – molnupiravir and Ronapreve. Both have been tested in clinical trials with “at risk” people experiencing mild to moderate symptoms. They work in different ways.
Molnupiravir (brand name Lagevrio)
- Molnupiravir is an antiviral treatment. Viruses work by making lots of copies of themselves inside your body. An antiviral treatment targets the virus at an early stage, making it harder for it to make copies of itself. This lowers the level of virus circulating in your body.
- Another antiviral treatment already available is remdesivir. This is available for people hospitalised with COVID-19, but only on a very limited basis.
Ronapreve (drug names casirivimab and imdevimab)
- Ronapreve is an antibody treatment. Antibodies are molecules that our immune system makes. The antibodies recognise and neutralise threats.
- Ronapreve contains two antibodies developed in the lab which mimic our natural antibodies.
- The antibodies in Ronapreve target the virus. They attach themselves to the virus and stop it from infecting our cells.
- Ronapreve is available for people in hospital with COVID-19 without COVID-19 antibodies.
Find out more at https://www.mssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/news/ms-and-covid-19-two-new-tre.