COVID treatments for high risk individuals who have tested positive for COVID 19

COVID-19 treatments are offered to people who are at the highest risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 and test positive in the community.  

You may be at highest risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 if you have:

• down’s syndrome, or another chromosomal condition that affects your immune system.
• certain types of cancer or had treatment for certain types of cancer.
• sickle cell disease
• certain conditions affecting your blood
• chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 4 or 5
• severe liver disease
• had an organ transplant
• certain autoimmune or inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease
• HIV or AIDS and have a weakened immune system
• a condition affecting your immune system
• a condition affecting the brain or nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, motor neurone disease, myasthenia gravis, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or certain types of dementia
• certain lung conditions or treatments for lung conditions
• aged 85 and over (from 1^st July 2024)
• have end stage heart failure and have a long term ventricular assistance device (a mechanical device that helps the heart pump blood) (from 1^st July 2024)
• are on the organ transplant waiting list (from 1^st July 2024)
• are aged 70 years and over, or who have a body mass index (BMI) of 35 kg/m2 or more, diabetes or heart failure, and who are resident in a care home (from 1^st July 2024)

This list is a summary and does not cover everything. For more information see www.nhs.uk/coronavirustreatments

Humber and North Yorkshire has a Single Point of Contact which triages patients who may be eligible and then refers suitable patients onto an appropriate service. If you believe you are eligible and have tested positive for COVID-19  (confirmed by a PCR/LFT test) and are symptomatic, you can self-refer to the triage service using the weblink: https://selfrefer.yorkshirehealthpartners.co.uk/.  If you are unable to do this, you can contact your GP or NHS 111 for a referral to the service.

The triage service will contact you within 48 hours and if you are eligible for treatment will plan this with you. In most cases this will be through community pharmacy and patients can choose their preferred service. In Humber and North Yorkshire there are currently 25 community pharmacies commissioned by the ICB to provide covid medicines supply service.