Covid-19 pills: vulnerable and unvaccinated Australians to be prioritised for new oral treatments

The antiviral drugs Lagevrio and Paxlovid block the ability of the Sars-CoV-2 virus to replicate in the body, and were provisionally approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration on 20 January.

The treatments can only be given to adults with mild to moderate Covid-19, who do not yet require oxygen, and must be administered within five days of when symptoms begin.

The federal government secured 500,000 treatment courses of Paxlovid and 300,000 courses of Lagevrio for use this year.

Lagevrio would be placed in residential aged care facilities as soon as possible, Kidd said.

Clinical trials of both drugs found they reduced hospitalisation and deaths in people with Covid-19 when given within five days of the onset of symptoms. However, trials did not include individuals who were partially or fully vaccinated.

Prof Trent Twomey, the president of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, on Tuesday welcomed the first lot of antiviral deliveries from the National Medical Stockpile, but said more needed to be done to secure additional doses amid global supply chain shortages.

The Department of Health was contacted for comment.