Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Royal College of Nursing on the use of the allergy drug Budesonide in the treatment of early covid-19 symptoms.

The Department has not had specific discussions with the Royal College of Nursing.

Inhaled budesonide was trialled as part of the PRINCIPLE trial platform in the United Kingdom as a treatment for COVID-19 in non-hospitalised patients who are 65 years old and over or 50 years old and over with an underlying health condition. On 12 April, interim analysis revealed that inhaled budesonide reduced the time to self-reported recovery by a median of three days. A complete analysis is currently underway to understand the full benefit. Clinical guidance has been issued for clinicians to consider prescribing inhaled budesonide on a case-by-case basis, but it is not currently recommended as the standard of care in the UK. The Department has briefed the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges on the recent results from the PRINCIPLE trial.