Thousands of doses of expensive antiviral drugs could be thrown out if eligibility for the COVID-19 treatments is not widened | TimnaJacks & CarlaJaeger17
Thousands of doses of expensive antiviral drugs could be wasted if more Australians do not become eligible to take the treatments that have been found to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19.
The medications can prevent COVID-19 from developing into severe disease if taken within five days of symptoms starting. “In a matter of months, these medicines will expire, and it would be a real shame to have to dispose of these really useful medicines because we didn’t allow access for patients,” Tassone said.
The call to widen access to the COVID-19 medications follows the Victorian government’s announcement that it will scale back its mass testing and vaccination sites within a week, as GPs and pharmacies deliver more than 70 per cent of vaccinations and rapid antigen tests are widely used.
“Any expansion of eligibility will be considered by the PBAC at its next meeting, in early July, which will consider the potential benefits and harms of these medications.” Australian National University infectious disease expert Peter Collignon said a cost-benefit analysis should be done to avoid unnecessary expenditure, while the risks of side effects and drug interactions for some patients must be considered.
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