Tablet that treats Covid could be available to take at home by autumn

Tablets that can be taken at home to treat Covid-19 could be available as early as the autumn thanks to a new government drive to improve treatments.

The aim is for at least two effective treatments for Covid to be developed by the end of the year which could be taken either in a tablet or capsule form.

The drugs would be taken at home after testing positive for the virus rather than in the hospital, freeing up pressure on hospitals for only the most severe cases.

If successful the scheme would improve recovery times for people who catch Covid-19 and ensure fewer people get severely ill with the virus.

A new “antivirals taskforce” is being created by the Government, similar to the vaccines taskforce which has had such success rolling out jabs across Britain.

Boris Johnson said: “The success of our vaccination programme has demonstrated what the UK can achieve when we bring together our brightest minds.

“Our new antivirals taskforce will seek to develop innovative treatments you can take at home to stop Covid-19 in its tracks.

“These could provide another vital defence against any future increase in infections and save more lives.”

Mr Johnson announced the news at a press conference yesterday, saying he hoped the drugs would give “ever greater confidence” to the public that the pandemic could be controlled and explaining how they could work.

The Prime Minister said: “If you test positive, there might be a tablet you can take at home to stop the virus in its tracks and significantly reduce the chance of infection turning into more severe disease.

“Or, if you're living with someone who has tested positive, there might be a pill you can take for a few days to stop you getting the disease yourself.”

Mr Johnson named the steroid Dexamethasone and the antiviral drug Remdesivir as treatments that have helped some patients tackling Covid, joking that there were others with names "sounding a bit like Aztec divinities” that were also of interest.

While there has been much public discussion about Covid vaccines protecting the most vulnerable and stopping infection spread, advancements in treatments for coronavirus have received less media coverage.

The antivirals taskforce will identify and hand out innovative Covid-19 treatments with the hope of making them widely available before the flu season this winter.

It is hoped the drugs could be used alone or in combination with one another in order to increase effectiveness and reduce the risk of further virus mutations.

The drive to identify a chairman for the new taskforce will launch shortly.

The vaccines taskforce has seen more than half the adults in the UK get their first Covid jab, a rollout that in speed has exceeded almost every other nation.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said: “In combination with our fantastic vaccination programme, medicines are a vital weapon to protect our loved ones from this terrible virus.

“Modelled on the success of the vaccines and therapeutics taskforces, which have played a crucial part in our response to the pandemic, we are now bringing together a new team that will supercharge the search for antiviral treatments and roll them out as soon as the autumn.”

Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK's Chief Scientific Adviser, said: “The speed at which vaccines and therapeutics such as dexamethasone have been identified and deployed against Covid-19 has been critical to the pandemic response.

“Antivirals in tablet form are another key tool for the response. They could help protect those not protected by or ineligible for vaccines. They could also be another layer of defence in the face of new variants of concern.

“The taskforce will help ensure the most promising antivirals are available for deployment as quickly as possible."