EARLY access to oral antivirals to treat COVID-19 has become a pillar of Australia's response to the pandemic, with a paper published today in the Medical Journal of Australia stressing the important of access to the drugs particularly in vulnerable cohorts.
The report notes the availability of molnupiravir (Lagevrio) and nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid) which had eligibility widened in Jul 2022 and again in Nov last year, while varying approaches in different countries included the NZ response which saw antiviral prescribing extended to pharmacists to reduce barriers to access.
In Australia, supply has improved and prescribing has increased, so "equity must now be our top priority", the paper concludes - see mja.com.au.
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