COVID-19 in Caerphilly County Borough

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:35 pm on 9 November 2021.

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Photo of Natasha Asghar Natasha Asghar Conservative 1:35, 9 November 2021

First Minister, I appreciate your response to my honourable colleague. Caerphilly continues to have the highest number of newly recorded cases of COVID in my region of South Wales East. You are a learned person, and I'm sure you've seen the stories that the UK medicines regulator has recently approved the first antiviral medication for COVID that can be taken as a pill, rather than injected or given intravenously. In clinical trials, the pill cut the risk of hospitalisation, or death, by about half, but needs to be given within five days of symptoms developing to be the most effective. The treatment has been described as a game changer, and the UK Government agreed to purchase 480,000 doses. First Minister, what discussions has your Government had about obtaining supplies of this drug for COVID patients here in Wales, and when can we expect this treatment to begin, and will priority be given to areas such as Caerphilly, where COVID rates remain stubbornly high? Thank you very much.