COVID-19

Pharmacies will most likely have to wait until New Zealand enters phase three of its response to the Omicron COVID-19 outbreak before they can supply rapid antigen tests to the public

Pharmac has today confirmed the access criteria for two COVID-19 treatments – baricitinib and casirivimab with imdevimab (branded as Ronapreve). Both will be available for use in DHB hospitals from 1 February 2022

The Government has announced a three phase Omicron plan that aims to slow down and limit the spread of an outbreak, Associate Minister of Health, Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today

New Zealand’s PCR testing capacity can be increased by nearly 20,000 tests per day to deal with a surge in cases as part of our wider COVID-19 testing strategy, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall said

Hit by a “perfect storm” of demands as Omicron swept through the country, Australian pharmacists have advice for their Kiwi counterparts as Omicron settles in New Zealand

With Aotearoa now at red in the traffic light settings in a bid to keep Omicron at bay, stockpilers have returned in droves and cleared entire supermarkets and pharmacies of their pain-relief stock

Pharmac has signed deals to supply 120,000 courses of antivirals to community patients, but with Omicron cases likely to surge ahead of Delta, the RNZCGP questions whether that is enough

The sector has navigated teething issues and stepped up to the plate to enter an “exciting” new era of paediatric vaccinations in pharmacy

Kiwi scientists have developed a shipping container-based unit to disinfect N95 masks and other PPE, so it can be potentially reused and safely recycled

A paper published today in the New Zealand Medical Journal confirms the covidSHIELD PCR saliva test developed by the University of Illinois is a reliable option for detecting COVID-19