East of England “Tipping Point” winner helps tip the balance for COVID-19 research
An Administrative Manager from Norwich who won ITV’s ‘Tipping Point’ show has now taken part in the fastest growing research trial to help find a drug that people with COVID-19 can take at home that may help them to get better sooner and reduce the need for hospital admission.
Ronnie, 47, started feeling unwell at the beginning of January and a COVID-19 test showed she had been infected by the virus. Soon after she had received the result of her PCR test she received a call from an NHS research nurse working for the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) based at a surgery within OneNorwich Practices.
Ronnie was offered the chance to take part in the PANORAMIC trial, which is testing antiviral medications to see if they reduce the recovery time for people with COVID-19. The trial is open to people who:
- Have had COVID-19 symptoms for less than five days
- And have had a positive PCR or Lateral Flow test for COVID-19
- And are aged 50 or over, or are aged 18 or over with an underlying health condition.
Having listened to the information given to her by the research nurse it was an easy answer for Ronnie, and she signed up to the trial. Ronnie said:
“My view on it is, if I can help anybody else to lessen the effects of COVID and not go through things as badly as I did and prevent it from potentially worsening then I’m there.”
Once Ronnie had agreed to take part in the trial, a courier delivered the tablets being tested to her home. People who take part in the trial are either given Molnupiravir, which is a new antiviral treatment, or are asked to follow standard care.
Ronnie took four Molnupiravir tablets twice a day and she filled out a daily online diary to say how she was feeling. She began to start feeling better soon after starting the trial. Ronnie said:
“You take your paracetamol and you kind of know what it’s going to do, but with these pills you don’t. In all honesty though, it’s either saved me or I simply wasn’t going to get worse.
“To me, taking part was no problem at all though, it was really easy. It didn’t impact my life apart from spending 10 minutes a day taking the tablets and updating the diary. You hardly even realise you’re on the trial!”
Ronnie, who won ITV’s Tipping Point show in 2018, now works ‘behind the scenes’ in administration for the NHS, having left a career in Finance a few years ago. She is glad she signed up to take part in research and hopes others will think about joining the PANORAMIC trial too. Ronnie said:
“Anybody who’s thinking about taking part should do it, I mean, it might save your life or even somebody else's.”
PANORAMIC is funded by the NIHR, while delivery of the trial is supported by the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN). The NIHR CRN East of England also funds research staff at every hospital trust and at around 50% of all GP practices in the region.
Dr Serge Engamba, NIHR CRN East of England Deputy Primary Care Lead and GP for OneNorwich Practices, said:
"If we could find a treatment that people can take at home to help them recover more quickly, just like a headache pill, that would be good for patients and could help ease some of the pressure on the NHS. The PANORAMIC trial is trying to do just that."
"Although the study has received great support from the public so far, we still need many more volunteers to take part in the PANORAMIC trial, specifically adults under the age of 50 years who have an underlying health condition, or anyone aged over 50 years. Thank you to everyone who considers helping us."
For further information, please visit: https://www.panoramictrial.org.
