Following the spread of information that the Agency for Drugs and Medical Devices approved the import and availability of the drug favipiravir for end-patients, Free Press tried to find out the criteria by which this drug will be given. 

With "Favira" on prescription, covid-19 will be treated in Macedonia as well

The president of the association of family doctors Lidija Colakova says that they receive the information from the journalists, instead of properly, through an official letter from the Ministry of Health. She did not know if GPs would be able to prescribe the drug to patients, or if it would still go through secondary health care.

"Favira" available for Macedonians on the black market in Kosovo for 500 euros!

We need an official notification about the dosing method. We know that when it comes to viral infections, drugs act at the beginning of the infection, but still when it comes to a new drug, we should not speculate. It is good to communicate in writing, this is how it turns out that we find out all the new information through journalists, we are law firms, the Ministry should make sure to receive official notification, with the effect of the drug and the dosage. There must be a treatment protocol. The prescribed medication regimen that has existed since 2008 states that there are medications that can be prescribed by a family doctor without a specialist recommendation, but there are also medications that can only be obtained at a pharmacy with specialist approval. "We still do not know in which category of drugs favipiravir belongs," Dr. told Sloboden Pecat. Lidija Cholakova.

The director of MALMED, Lirim Shabani, says that the Drug Agency enabled the availability of the drug favipiravir, after a previous review of the justification of the drug, but he did not know when exactly the citizens will be able to be treated with this drug.

- We as an agency enabled the availability of the medicine, we had a request and letters for justification of favipiravir and we decided to approve the import. All hospitals that requested import and met the conditions were approved to import the drug. Import was also approved to a wholesaler. I can not specify exactly when this medicine will be available. Avigan, which has the same effects as Favipiravir, comes from Japan and the other from Turkey. I hope to arrive with us soon, said in a statement for Free Press the director of MALMED, Shabani.

Health has no price, but even if you manage to raise at least 12000 euros for treatment in a private hospital, it does not mean that you will get the medicine