No, not in Masterchef. Or The Voice. Or The Block. Or House Rules. Or whatever current “reality” tv wants you to text/sms/call/vote online for someone/something.
This is far more important. To you, to me, to our families, to the many hundreds of thousands of people with hepatitis C in Australia.
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) is meeting in July to discuss listing AbbVIe’s Viekira Pak on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). We have already had gains with sofosbuvir (Sovaldi), ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (known as Harvoni overseas), and daclatasvir/sofosbuvir (Daklinza/Sovaldi) in March this year. This is an opportunity to add another weapon to the hepatitis C treatment arsenal.
Submissions close on the 10th June. I can’t suggest strongly enough that you go over to the PBAC website and fill out an individual submission. Yes they read them. Yes they matter. If we want movement on this matter, sometimes we have to pick up the cudgel ourselves and start swinging. This is OUR health problem. We should be proactive about looking for solutions. It affects us, and by association our families.
So what are you waiting for? The Hepatitis Australia website has excellent tips for filling out the form, as well as a link to the PBAC website. If I can offer one small suggestion, fill out the sample Word doc first. Don’t just type straight into the website. Ask me how I know not to do that. Actually no, don’t. Because then I’d have to feel like an idiot and so far I’ve tried not to give away the fact that sometimes I’m really really daft.
Please have your say. Please be a positive force for change. The life you save may just be your own.
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