COVID-19 antiviral use
COVID-19 oral antiviral medication has been used to prevent severe COVID-19 outcomes in at-risk individuals (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing 2022). Antivirals have been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death among people diagnosed with COVID-19 including for vaccinated, older individuals diagnosed during the Omicron period (Van Heer et al. 2023). However, more recent studies suggest that antivirals may have less of an impact in people who have received multiple COVID-19 vaccinations (National Clinical Evidence Taskforce 2023).
COVID-19 antiviral treatments were made available for selected populations through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from March 2022: See Eligibility for COVID-19 oral antiviral treatments for details.
This chapter reports on aged care residents who:
- had their last COVID-19 diagnosis between 16 February 2022 and 31 December 2022, and
- were prescribed COVID-19 antiviral treatments under the PBS within 3 days before their COVID-19 diagnosis and up to 14 days after their COVID-19 diagnosis.
See the Technical notes for more information.
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (2022) COVID-19 antivirals prevent severe illness and death, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website, Australian Government, accessed 13 November 2024.
National Clinical Evidence Taskforce (2023 version 72) Australian guidelines for the clinical care of people with COVID-19, Section 7.1.4.1 Molnupiravir (Lagevrio) for adults and Section 7.1.5.1 Nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid) for adults, accessed 16 July 2025.
Van Heer C, Majumdar S, Parta I, Martinie M, Dawson R, West D, Hewett L, Lister D, Sutton B, O'Brien DP and Cowie BC (2023) ‘Effectiveness of community-based oral antiviral treatments against severe COVID-19 outcomes in people 70 years and over in Victoria, Australia, 2022: an observational study’, The Lancet Regional Health Western Pacific, 41:100917, accessed 13 November 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2023.100917.