A new dedicated reporting site for any suspected adverse drug reactions or side effects from medicines and adverse incidents involving medical equipment relating to coronavirus (COVID-19) treatment has been launched.

Visit new website

The new and tailored COVID-19 Yellow Card reporting site makes it quicker and simpler to report for healthcare professionals, patients and carers. The site forms part of our ongoing work to protect the public through enhanced COVID-19 vigilance and in preparation for large-scale use of potential new or repurposed medicines, medical devices, diagnostic tests and future vaccines.

We need your help and support to promote this and so would be grateful if you could share this information through your membership, websites and various communication channels.

Actions for patients, carers and their organisations:

Patient Yellow Card reporting is important and complements the information received from healthcare professionals.

Patients and carers are encouraged to use the new COVID-19 Yellow Card reporting site to self-report, or report on behalf of someone they are caring for, any:

  • suspected side effects from medicines in patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19
  • medical devices incidents related to COVID-19

Help raise awareness of the new COVID-19 Yellow Card reporting site by following the MHRA’s social media accounts on TwitterFacebook and LinkedIn and retweeting, liking, and sharing messages.

For any non COVID-19 related suspected side effects from usual medicines, including problems with medical device incidents, defective or falsified healthcare products (including fake COVID-19 testing kits) and safety concerns with e-cigarettes, please continue to report these using the main Yellow Card scheme reporting site or the free Yellow Card app which can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Patients who do not have online access to report a suspected side effect to the Yellow Card scheme can call 0800 731 6789 for free from Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm. They can also leave a message outside of these hours and one of our team will get back to them.

The COVID-19 Yellow Card reporting site is not for reporting symptoms of COVID-19 and the MHRA cannot provide medical advice. Patients who need medical advice or are worried about their health are encouraged to speak to their doctor, pharmacist or to call NHS 111.

Why report?

Reporting suspected side effects or medical devices problems helps identify safety issues which might not have been previously known.

As there are currently no medicines authorised to treat COVID-19 by the MHRA, several treatments authorised for other diseases are being used in patients with COVID-19. This includes medicines and medical devices used to treat severe respiratory illnesses, to treat the symptoms of COVID-19, to provide supportive care, or to supress virus reproduction in some cases.

What happens to my report?

The MHRA will use the COVID-19 Yellow Card reports to monitor the safety of the medicines and medical devices being used with COVID-19 treatment; to identify new or emerging risks and investigate them further, including with experts. This includes reviewing the warnings given to people using these products, taking appropriate regulatory action including communicating risks, where necessary in relation to COVID-19.

What to report?

We are reminding patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 to report any suspected side effects that they experience with any of the medicines they are taking to treat COVID-19. This includes any medicines taken by patients to manage long-term, pre-existing conditions. It is also important to report any safety concerns associated with medical devices used in COVID-19 treatment.

The importance of taking medicines as instructed

We realise patients may be accessing their medicines differently, but it is important to continue taking your medicines as instructed by a healthcare professional for any health conditions. We would also encourage patients to speak to their doctor, nurses or pharmacist if they are worried about their health or wish to make changes to their treatment.

In such exceptional times and social distancing, we would like to reassure patients, parents and carers that we are still here to support them and encourage them to report their concerns of suspected side effects from medicines using the usual Yellow Card scheme which continues to operate as usual.

Patients can make a report or find out more about the COVID-19 Yellow Card reporting site.

Kind regards,

Patient, Public and Stakeholder Engagement team

Communications division