New coronavirus drugs expected to arrive in Estonia in January
It is likely new drugs to fight coronavirus will arrive in Estonia in January and the government will allocate almost 20 million for their purchase. Currently, several medicines are awaiting authorization from the EU.
Estonia will allocate 4.25 million this year and more than 15 million next year to buy the drugs, such as Molnupiravir and Paxlovid.
Margit Plakso, head of the Marketing Authorization Department of the Estonian Agency of Medicines, said some drugs such as Remdesivir are already authorized and in use while others, such as Molnupiravir, are still waiting.
Molnupiravir, taken in pill form, will be available as a prescription for those who are most at risk.
Erki Laidmäe, head of the Estonian Health Insurance Fund's Department of Medicines and Medical Devices, said: "Patients must have a positive test result to be prescribed this treatment, [and] they must have a risk factor, such as old age."
Plakso said authorization is expected within a few weeks. But Laidmäe believes it is unlikely the drugs will reach Estonia before the end of the year.
"We assume that we will have these medicines in Estonia in January," he said.
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Editor: Helen Wright
