The expenses of Russians on medicines for COVID-19 in 2021 amounted to more than 64 billion rubles, RBC reported, citing data from the Chestny Znak unified system for digital marking and tracking of goods, which were provided by the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies (CRPT).
Russians spent the most money on umifenovir — 16.8 billion rubles, the immunomodulator interferon-alpha — 2B — 7.2 billion rubles, favipiravir — 2.9 billion rubles, dexamethasone — 1 billion rubles, methylprednisolone — 0.8 billion rubles Among residents of Russian regions, residents of Moscow and the Moscow Region spent the most on treatment for coronavirus — 5 billion rubles each, as well as the Krasnodar Territory — 3 billion rubles. In total, Russians bought 144 million packages of COVID-19 medicines last year.
At the end of December, the Ministry of Health updated guidelines for the treatment of coronavirus. The document included information about the omicron strain, the Sputnik M vaccine for adolescents, and clarified the specifics of prescribing anticoagulants. The Ministry of Health added Mir 19 drugs for the treatment of COVID-19, nirmatrelvir + ritonavir and information on drugs based on monoclonal antibodies for patients at risk of a severe course of the disease to the recommendations.
Prior to this, the Ministry of Health registered a drug for the treatment of COVID-19 “Covid-globulin” based on the blood plasma of those who had recovered from the coronavirus. The drug has successfully passed two phases of clinical trials, Rostec reported. According to their results, seven out of ten patients had a reduced risk of the disease progressing to a more severe form. The drug, according to the company, can be used against existing and circulating strains of coronavirus.
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