Covid 19 -

[DFB FGXR6]

RANT TIME BECASUE IT WOULD SEEM I HAVE PLENTY OF TIME ON MY HANDS TO DO SO!

Why is it, that three years into this bloody thing, that we are still having to jump through hoops to get treatment for Covid.

I am very lucky to have a gardening client who has known me my whole life, he delivered me a baby and was my pediatrician when I got Type 1 Diabetes at age 6, 30 years ago. He has always looked after me when things like this crop up, even as an adult. As such, he told me a long time ago that being a Diabetic, I qualify for Paxlovid and that I should contact my doctor as soon as possible for a script.

Being a Sunday, of course that means contacting the after-hours call service and booking a phone appointment within a four hour window. Four hours later, the doctor who phoned said I didn't qualify. Once again, my client comes to my rescue with the PBS listing and eligibility criteria -

The following is a list of risk factors (conditions) contributing to the PBS definition of high risk for development of severe disease -
1. The patient is in residential aged care,
2. The patient has disability with multiple comorbidities and/or frailty,
3. Neurological conditions, including stroke and dementia and demyelinating conditions,
4. Respiratory compromise, including COPD, moderate or severe asthma (required inhaled
steroids), and bronchiectasis, or caused by neurological or musculoskeletal disease,
5. Heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies
6. Obesity (BMI greater than 30 kg/m2),
7. Diabetes type I or II, requiring medication for glycaemic control,
8. Renal impairment (eGFR less than 60mL/min),
9. Cirrhosis, or
10. The patient has reduced, or lack of, access to higher level healthcare and lives in an area of
geographic remoteness classified by the Modified Monash Model as Category 5 or above.

So, that means another four hour wait for a phone call and argument that I do qualify. And then here's hoping that the pharmacy still open at 6.30pm has the stuff in stock. Otherwise, I can have a private script to the tune of $1159.50.

Again, why is this so hard?