Positive priority PCR for antivirals - do I call 111?

[RudieCantSail]

I lost my sense of taste on Thursday, DH also tested positive on LTF (mine was negative).
I took the priority PCR I'd been issued which came back positive yesterday morning. A follow up email said I'd get a phone call within 24 hours to discuss if antivirals would be suitable for me, but if I don't hear, to phone GP or 111 if out of hours.

24 hours is nearly up, but apart from no taste and being a bit tired and achy, I don't feel too ill. Just not sure whether I should call 111.

Call 111. The whole point of the antivirals is you take them early, before you're seriously ill. They're much less effective later in the disease progression.

I gave them a call. After nearly an hour on hold they've taken my details and a clinician will call back.

I wish I’d been contacted in time for the anti virals - by the time anyone who knew what they were talking about contacted me it was too late to start
So yes say yes

I’m in the same boat. My Gp said they’d make the referral for me yesterday but haven’t heard anything yet!

Yes I'd give them a call. They need to be taken early to work.

I called my GP the same day I tested positive - he knew nothing about it

I've only just now received any contact - on day 7 and the closest centre is miles away and I'm not well enough to drive there so no antivirals for me

It's a bloody farce

Call 111 they have a special option for it.
It has to be given within 5 days of symptoms.

Agree. I waited 24 hours to get a call which didn’t happen. Called 111 and no answer after following the prompts.
Waited 24 hours again called GP they didn’t have a clue what was going on and said they’d call me the next day
They then called in the evening and said the hospital would call
24 hours later they did but by then it was past the 5 days

Why do they need to make everything so complicated??
They sent out priority PCRs to those people they deemed more at risk.....wouldn't it make sense for the meds to be sent automatically following a positive test??

i thought they were going to courier them to people ?
obviously one is not meant to circulate, travel, mingle to fetch them, and some patients don't have someone close enough to go get them on their behalf.

wouldn't it make sense for the meds to be sent automatically following a positive test??

No, because 1) treatment is only offered if there are symptoms, which not everyone who tests positive gets, and 2) the 2 treatments offered are either via injection infusion that needs administering or 2) pills for 5 days that might include signing up to the Panoramic study.

In some areas this is working very well but clearly not everywhere. I understand about 1 million priority tests were sent out.

Interesting to see how this works out in practice. I got my PCR test which appears to be labelled to give some priority. I have needed to use it yet.

I’d give them a call if you have any symptoms. I got a call within 24 hours of my positive PCR and offered treatment as I had symptoms. My symptoms weren’t awful but I was worried as lots of people seem to dip about a week into Covid. Anyway had an infusion and felt much better pretty quickly.

Are your symptoms still the same?

The priority pcr was super efficient mine was posted New Year’s Day and results following day so both bank holidays
It was just the follow up call part to get the meds that didn’t work

I didn't get a call back today, If I don't get a call tomorrow I'll call the GP on Monday. Still not feeling too bad.

Agree that the PCR was really quick, it's just the follow up that doesn't seem to work.

Please call them if you don't hear. I will say that all seems to have worked very easily for me. Posted PCR 6pm thursday came back very quickly Friday morning with my positive result. My renal team phoned me on Friday about 2 hours later and booked me in the next day for the infusion (I had it yesterday, and don't feel as bad as I did yesterday so hoping it's working)

Does anyone know if you are automatically sent a replacement test kit if you test negative? I called 119 to ask them ahead of me using mine yesterday but they had no clue! I also didn’t get any confirmation email when I registered my priority PCR which has worried me a little. Or is this normal?

@Rollergirl11

Does anyone know if you are automatically sent a replacement test kit if you test negative? I called 119 to ask them ahead of me using mine yesterday but they had no clue! I also didn’t get any confirmation email when I registered my priority PCR which has worried me a little. Or is this normal?

I haven’t heard of anyone who has, dont think they’ve thought that far ahead!

Did you check your junk folder? I’d wait and see if they send the results. If you kept a note of the details on the kit you could always follow up if you don’t hear after the time specified.

Sorry to hijack this. Just checked my priority PCR test kit and lots of items missing including packaging to send it off!!!?!

I phoned 119 was on hold for over 50
minutes only to get a ratty robot following a script with menopausal or pmt symptoms!!! I might as well have asked our dog what to do about missing items in the PCR test kit!! She said she would post one out to me which will take two to three days to arrive!! I explained that I would need to start taking antivirals within 5 days of symptoms which started today. Apparently I can’t book a test at a drive in place as they won’t know and I should wait for this kit? Do you think that is right?

My dads priority kit hadnt arrived when he got symptoms, so he went to a drive through tests site. As soon as he got his positive result he called his GP, who set the ball rolling for the antibody infusion.
There were a lot of calls to be made over a couple of days but it did work out in the end. So, on his experience, I would say go to a test centre.

I had a priority pcr test sent to me, so used it and sent it off after I tested positive using lft. I was contacted with positive result within 24 hrs and informed that I would be contacted by phone later that day re possible antibody infusion. My only symptom was a runny nose, so when I was phoned, I said I didn't need the infusion. I was phoned again the next day and said again that I was more or less symptom free. A further option was offered, in the form of tablet medication, which could be given on day 6 if symptoms worsened. My g.p. would need to be contacted for this option and would have to do an urgent referral. My symptoms went by day 4, so I didn't need to use any of the extremely well-run services available to me as CEV.In addition, I received a new priority pcr test kit on day 5, so am prepared if I test positive in the future. The system worked perfectly for me and I was relieved that I had such a mild case of covid. Well done Nhs

@Sherwil16 fingers crossed mine will be mild too. I can cope with snotty nose, headache and aches as long as my breathing is ok as I have part of my lung missing, am asthmatic and also have blood cancer.

I called for the antivirals but was deemed "too well" to get them, as my symptoms had improved from the day before despite me being a chemotherapy patient!

Thanks fingers crossed I won’t need them.

@Munchyseeds

Why do they need to make everything so complicated?? They sent out priority PCRs to those people they deemed more at risk.....wouldn't it make sense for the meds to be sent automatically following a positive test??

Because they need to decide which are most suitable for the individual patient, not least because some drug interactions are highly risky (do not take) or risky (only take under close supervision)

And of course you can't administer the IV ones at home anyhow