Guidance
This guideline covers the management of COVID-19 for babies, children, young people and adults in all care settings. It brings together our existing recommendations on managing COVID-19, and new recommendations on therapeutics, so that healthcare staff and those planning and delivering services can find and use them more easily.
We are continually monitoring the evidence and updating the guideline as new information emerges.
22 June 2023: In the section on therapeutics for COVID-19 we updated the recommendations on nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir and sotrovimab to link to section 5 of NICE's technology appraisal guidance on casirivimab plus imdevimab, nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir, sotrovimab and tocilizumab. The linked section provides supporting information on risk factors for progression to severe COVID-19 provided by the independent advisory group commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care.
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) safety alert for Philips ventilator, CPAP and BiPAP devices: In June 2021, the MHRA issued a National Patient Safety Alert for Philips ventilator, CPAP and BiPAP devices: Potential for patient harm due to inhalation of particles and volatile organic compounds. This applies to all devices manufactured before 26 April 2021.
We have published this guideline in MAGICapp, a global evidence ecosystem already being used by key partners such as the Australian Taskforce for COVID-19 and the World Health Organization. The MAGICapp platform allows the efficient sharing of evidence between guideline developers from around the world. This means NICE can develop and update its COVID-19 guidance more quickly and efficiently as new evidence is assessed. We collaborated with the Australian National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce during development of the guideline, and acknowledge their contribution to identifying and reviewing the evidence for therapeutics.
To access the guideline in MAGICapp, select the topic area you are interested in.
Download the PDF for a fully accessible version of the guideline.
The guideline is part of a suite of products that NICE has developed to support healthcare staff during the pandemic. See our list of COVID guidelines.
NICE is currently evaluating the clinical and cost effectiveness of molnupiravir, remdesivir and tixagevimab plus cilgavimab for COVID-19 through the technology appraisal process. For more information see the development page on molnupiravir, remdesivir and tixagevimab plus cilgavimab for treating COVID-19.
Disclaimer
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Your responsibility
The recommendations in this guideline represent the view of NICE, arrived at after careful consideration of the evidence available. When exercising their judgement, professionals and practitioners are expected to take this guideline fully into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences and values of their patients or the people using their service. It is not mandatory to apply the recommendations, and the guideline does not override the responsibility to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual, in consultation with them and their families and carers or guardian.
All problems (adverse events) related to a medicine or medical device used for treatment or in a procedure should be reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency using the Yellow Card Scheme.
Local commissioners and providers of healthcare have a responsibility to enable the guideline to be applied when individual professionals and people using services wish to use it. They should do so in the context of local and national priorities for funding and developing services, and in light of their duties to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, to advance equality of opportunity and to reduce health inequalities. Nothing in this guideline should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with complying with those duties.
Commissioners and providers have a responsibility to promote an environmentally sustainable health and care system and should assess and reduce the environmental impact of implementing NICE recommendations wherever possible.