Britain recommends against NHS use of 5 COVID treatments as not cost-effective

Britain’s agency that determines if medicines should be used in the National Health Service (NHS), has recommended stopping the use of five COVID-19 treatments, including Merck & Co’s’s antiviral pill for high-risk patients, citing cost-effectiveness concerns.
The review, conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and published on Wednesday, is its first involving COVID-19 treatments as the pandemic enters a new phase.
Many governments are or soon will be grappling with similar decisions. With COVID-related deaths and cases down significantly, many countries are navigating how to transition from the public health emergency phase.
The recommendations are a draft, NICE said, and until final guidance is published, access to COVID-19 medicines will continue as is. It did not say when final guidance would be published.