Are you eligible for COVID-19 antiviral treatment?

While vaccination against COVID-19 is the first and best defense against the illness, some people are at a higher risk of becoming very unwell if they contract it and would benefit from COVID-19 antiviral treatment.

To assess your eligibility or to speak to one of our doctors, visit the new COVID-19 antiviral consultation platform.

Who can receive the COVID-19 treatment?

The list of Australians who can now receive Government subsided COVID-19 oral antiviral treatments includes:

• 70 years of age or older
• 60 years of age or older with one additional risk factor
• 50 years of age or older with two additional risk factors (or who have previously been hospitalised with COVID-19)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people aged 30 years and over with one risk factor
• 18 years of age or older and moderately to severely immunocompromised

The risk factors include:

• Living in residential aged care
• Living with disability with multiple conditions and/or frailty (but not limited to living in supported accommodation)
• Neurological conditions such as stroke or dementia and demyelinating conditions e.g. multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barre Syndrome
• Chronic respiratory conditions, including COPD, moderate or severe asthma
• Obesity or diabetes (type I or II requiring medication)
• Heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies
• Kidney failure or cirrhosis
• Living remotely with reduced access to higher level healthcare.

The conditions include:

• Blood cancer or some red blood cell disorders (thalassaemia, sickle cell disease)
• Transplant recipient
• Primary or acquired (HIV) immunodeficiency
• Chemotherapy or whole-body radiotherapy in the past three months
• High-dose corticosteroids or pulse corticosteroid therapy in the past three months
• Immunosuppressive treatments in the past three months
• Taken Rituximab in the past 12 months
• Cerebral palsy or Down syndrome
• Congenital heart disease
• Living with disability, with multiple conditions and/or frailty.

To assess your eligibility or to speak to one of our doctors, visit the COVID-19 antiviral consultation platform.

Access to COVID-19 antiviral treatment

With COVID expected to be the third leading cause of death in Australia this year, we are helping to reduce severe cases and mortality rates with a dedicated COVID-19 antiviral service.

The new service enables patients to assess whether they are eligible for the COVID-19 oral antiviral treatment through an online questionnaire. Patients who are eligible will then have a phone consultation with an InstantScripts doctor. Patients who are not eligible can still receive support to manage their symptoms.

Dr Andrew Thompson, Medical Director at InstantScripts, says: “The dedicated platform will allow eligible Australians to act quickly and access information from their own home. This is where digital healthcare services can step in. For instance, InstantScripts doctors are available from 6am to midnight and we offer home delivery of medication.”