COVID-19 antivirals: Doctors clash over PBS eligibility

'We’ve got nothing but telling people to take a Panadol and pray', Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah says.
Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah MP. Photo: Facebook.

Leading doctors have clashed over eligibility criteria for COVID-19 antivirals — specifically nirmatrelvir–ritonavir — following claims many patients were being “short-changed” and left unprotected.

Federal Labor MP and infectious diseases physician Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah said she had recently paid more than $1100 for an unspecified antiviral for a sick family member who was ineligible for a PBS-subsidised script.