Published on: 2nd February 2022
[Video URL: https://youtu.be/az-eta_Csh8]
The public are being asked to part in a UK-wide clinical study looking to find effective early treatments for COVID-19.
Researchers at the University of Oxford - in partnership with the NIHR - are trying to do this right now and want people to join a national priority study called PANORAMIC.
The trial aims to find antiviral treatments that reduce hospital admission and speed-up recovery for people with COVID-19, who are at home and in the early stages of infection.
LPFT Medical Director, Ananta Dave has also issued a call for people to take part. You can see what she has to say in the Youtube video above.
The first antiviral treatment to be investigated through the trial will be molnupiravir (brand name Lagevrio).
To take part, you will need to have had a positive COVID-19 test result and be experiencing COVID-19 symptoms which started within the last five days.
All participants should have recorded a positive PCR test within the past seven days.
You also need to be aged 50 years and over, or 18 years and over with an underlying health condition, such as asthma.
Participants will receive either the anti-viral treatment plus the current standard care, or the current standard of care without the new antiviral treatment. Around 5,300 people will be recruited to each group – up to 10,600 volunteers in total will be needed for testing whether the first novel antiviral in the study reduces the need for people to be admitted to hospital.
PANORAMIC will bring together GP practices, NHS 111, Test and Trace, Care Homes, pharmacies and other NHS and social care service providers UK-wide who will actively identify potential participants, invite them to take part and support their participation.
Taking part is easy. Eligible participants can join online or over the phone from the comfort of your own home. All the information you need will be couriered directly to you at home. You will also receive a symptom diary, and you may receive a treatment to take.
The trial’s Chief Investigator, Professor Chris Butler, Professor of Primary Care in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, said:
"It is early on in the illness, when people are still being cared for in the community, that treatments for COVID-19 could have their greatest benefit. So far, a lot of the research has focussed on finding out if well-known drugs can be repurposed to treat COVID-19. This new trial will test whether exciting, new antiviral treatments that are more specific to COVID-19 help people in the community recover faster and reduce the need for treatment in hospital."
Find out more and join the PANORAMIC trial’s volunteers in the search for COVID-19 treatments by visiting the study's website here
